The Western North Regional branch of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has expressed deep concern over what it describes as the government’s deliberate neglect of Ghana’s cocoa sector in favour of gold trading under the GOLDBOD initiative.
In a press statement issued on January 11, 2026, and signed by the party’s Regional Communications Officer, Addo Yaw Harry, popularly known as Ogyaba, the NPP in the region accused the government of failing to adequately fund COCOBOD and the Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) responsible for purchasing cocoa from farmers.
According to the statement, the situation has left cocoa farmers stranded with large quantities of unsold cocoa since November 2025. Licensed Buying Companies have not been adequately resourced with funds to purchase cocoa from farmers at the farm gate,” the release stated.
The party further lamented an acute shortage of cocoa jute sacks, saying this was the first time in decades that cocoa buyers had been unable to access sacks for proper packaging and transportation. “Farmers and companies are now resorting to fertilizer sacks, a practice that compromises quality and international standards,” the statement added.
The Western North NPP accused the government of channeling financial resources into the GOLDBOD initiative at the expense of the cocoa industry, which has sustained the Ghanaian economy for decades.
The statement called on the government and COCOBOD to immediately:
Release adequate funds to Licensed Buying Companies to enable them purchase cocoa nationwide.
Supply sufficient cocoa jute sacks to all buying companies to ensure proper storage and transport of the beans.
The party warned that the continued neglect of the cocoa sector could trigger an increase in cocoa smuggling to neighbouring countries, deepen poverty in cocoa-growing communities, and push frustrated farmers to sell or lease their cocoa farms to illegal miners.
“Cocoa farmers need prompt payment for their produce. Buying companies need funds and jute sacks to operate effectively. Stop starving the cocoa sector. COCOBOD must act now,” the statement concluded.
