The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called on President John Dramani Mahama to withhold assent to the Ghana Cocoa Board Bill, 2026, warning that some provisions of the legislation could hurt cocoa farmers and weaken key structures within Ghana’s cocoa industry.
The party wants the President to return the Bill to Parliament for broader stakeholder consultations and amendments before it becomes law.
According to the NPP Policy Secretariat, the party supports reforms to modernise the cocoa sector and agrees that the existing legal framework under PNDCL 81 requires replacement.
It, however, maintains that the speed at which the new legislation was passed, coupled with what it describes as inadequate stakeholder consultation, raises serious concerns about a law that could have far-reaching consequences for hundreds of thousands of cocoa-producing families.
The NPP estimates that the cocoa industry supports about 800,000 farming families and three million Ghanaians while generating approximately US$2 billion in a season.
The party also pointed to challenges confronting the industry, including a decline in cocoa production from a peak of 1.047 million tonnes to about 650,000 tonnes and approximately 90,000 hectares of farms awaiting rehabilitation due to swollen shoot disease.
“A good cause has been undone by a bad process,” the Policy Secretariat said.
NPP Questions Urgent Passage of Bill
A major concern raised by the party relates to the decision to pass the legislation under a Certificate of Urgency.
According to the NPP, the Bill was laid before Parliament on July 28 and passed within the same week, replacing PNDCL 81 and introducing a new regulatory framework, tribunal and criminal offences for the cocoa industry.
While acknowledging that the use of a Certificate of Urgency is not unconstitutional, the party questioned whether such an accelerated process was appropriate for legislation of that magnitude.
It also disputed claims that extensive consultations preceded the passage of the Bill.
The NPP alleged that the two national cocoa farmer associations were not consulted, while concerns raised by the Licensed Cocoa Buyers Association of Ghana (LICOBAG) were not incorporated. It further claimed that the Cocoa Hauliers Association was not consulted.
The party also argued that the final 2026 Bill differed materially from the 2025 version previously considered by parliamentary committees, leaving stakeholders without sufficient opportunity to scrutinise the final provisions.
“A law made for cocoa farmers, without cocoa farmers, is not reform. It is imposition,” the party said.
Concerns Over COCOBOD’s Mandate
The NPP also raised questions about Clause 4 of the Bill, which defines the mandate of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
The party welcomed provisions limiting COCOBOD’s functions to areas such as regulation, development, marketing, quality assurance, traceability, pricing and cocoa exports.
Its concern, however, centres on Clause 4(b), which it says could allow COCOBOD to assume responsibilities belonging to another ministry through an enactment or with prior ministerial approval.
The NPP argues that any substantial expansion of COCOBOD’s mandate beyond the functions expressly provided under the law should require parliamentary approval through legislation rather than ministerial authorisation.
Party Demands Transparency Over 70% Farmer Price
The producer price mechanism contained in Clause 57 is another major area of disagreement.
The provision sets the producer price at not less than 70% of the Gross Free On Board (FOB) price realised by COCOBOD.
While welcoming the statutory minimum, the NPP questioned how farmers and other stakeholders would independently verify the Gross FOB figure used to calculate their entitlement.
The party argues that unlike world market prices, which can be tracked on international commodity markets, the Gross FOB price realised by COCOBOD depends on contracts and transactions that may not be readily accessible to farmers.
It is therefore demanding that COCOBOD publish the calculations and underlying information used to determine the Gross FOB price every season and subject the figures to independent auditing before producer prices are announced.
The party summed up its concern with the question: “70 per cent of what figure, and verified by whom?”
NPP Warns Against Weakening Ghana’s Cocoa Marketing System
The party also expressed reservations about Clause 59 and its implications for the external marketing of Ghana’s cocoa.
According to the NPP, including external marketing within the licensing framework could potentially allow private exporters to compete with the Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC).
The party argues that Ghana derives considerable strength from its centralised cocoa marketing system, which allows the country to operate as a single seller on the international market.
It maintains that the arrangement supports forward sales, price stabilisation, quality premiums and Ghana’s joint cocoa pricing arrangements with Côte d’Ivoire, including the Living Income Differential.
The NPP fears that fragmenting external cocoa sales could weaken Ghana’s bargaining power in the international market.
It is therefore seeking explicit confirmation in the legislation that external marketing will remain vested in the CMC.
Clause 81 Could Affect Normal Farming Activities
Another provision attracting criticism is Clause 81, which restricts the destruction, uprooting, damaging or felling of cocoa trees except under rehabilitation approved by COCOBOD.
The NPP said it supports measures to protect cocoa farms, particularly from destruction associated with illegal mining, but believes the provision is too broad.
According to the party, farmers routinely remove dead, diseased or unproductive trees as part of normal farm management.
It warned that requiring prior approval for such activities could delay the removal of trees affected by swollen shoot disease and potentially worsen the spread of the disease.
The NPP wants tree removals carried out in accordance with published COCOBOD agronomic guidelines to be exempted from the approval requirement.
It proposes that specific approval should instead be required when a registered cocoa farm is being converted to a non-cocoa use.
Farmer Registration Raises Further Concerns
The party has also questioned provisions under Clause 85 requiring cocoa farmers and farms to be registered on the Cocoa Management System before engaging in commercial production, purchasing or selling.
While supporting registration as an important component of traceability, the NPP argues that farmers should not be penalised because of delays in completing COCOBOD’s registration exercise.
According to figures cited by the party, about 792,954 farmers have been registered and approximately 1.2 million hectares mapped, compared with an estimated 800,000 farming households and 1.27 million hectares under harvest.
It therefore wants enforcement of the restriction postponed until the government certifies that the registration process is substantially complete.
50% Local Processing Target Questioned
The NPP also raised concerns about the economic implications of Clause 106, which requires at least 50% of Ghana’s cocoa beans to be processed locally.
Although the party supports domestic processing and value addition, it argues that the target must take into account current market conditions.
It said Ghana has annual grinding capacity of approximately 504,780 tonnes, but actual processing averages between 210,000 and 220,000 tonnes.
With cocoa production estimated at about 650,000 tonnes, processing half of the country’s output would require approximately 325,000 tonnes to be processed locally — more than 100,000 tonnes above recent processing levels.
The party is therefore demanding clarity on the price at which cocoa would be supplied to domestic processors and who would absorb any discount required to make local processing commercially viable.
It warned that discounted domestic cocoa sales could potentially affect the Gross FOB figure used in calculating the minimum producer price paid to farmers.
Producer Price Reduction Raises Questions
The NPP further cited changes to the cocoa producer price during the 2025/26 season as justification for stronger statutory protections for farmers.
According to the party, the season opened in August 2025 with a producer price of GH¢51,660 per tonne, which was subsequently reduced to GH¢41,392 per tonne on February 12.
It argued that farmers had already made production and investment decisions based on the initial price before the reduction was announced.
The party pledged that an NPP administration led by Dr Mahamudu Bawumia would not reduce an announced producer price during an ongoing cocoa season.
“A price announced to the Ghanaian farmer will be a price honoured to the Ghanaian farmer,” the party said.
NPP Wants Bill Returned to Parliament
The NPP is consequently asking President Mahama to withhold assent and return the Ghana Cocoa Board Bill, 2026, to Parliament for further consideration.
Among its proposed changes are tighter restrictions on the expansion of COCOBOD’s mandate, publication and independent auditing of the Gross FOB calculation, protection of CMC’s role in external marketing and amendments to provisions governing the removal of cocoa trees.
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The party also wants enforcement of farmer registration requirements postponed until registration is substantially complete and greater clarity provided on the pricing framework for cocoa supplied to domestic processors.
It has called on farmer associations, LICOBAG, cocoa hauliers and processors to publicly state their positions on the legislation.
The NPP maintained that it supports reforms aimed at improving traceability, increasing value addition and guaranteeing farmers a minimum share of cocoa revenues, but insists those reforms must not disadvantage the producers they are intended to protect. “As it stands,” the party said, “major provisions in this new Cocoa Board law will hurt farmers.”
