Catholic Bishops Call for Immediate Payment of Cocoa Farmers
Conference urges settlement of arrears, sustained producer prices, and urgent reforms to stabilise Ghana’s cocoa sector.
- The Catholic Bishops are demanding the immediate payment of all outstanding arrears owed to cocoa farmers
- The Conference is calling for sustained producer prices and transparent financial restructuring of the Ghana Cocoa Board
- The Bishops warn that delays, falling prices, and rising global competition are worsening hardship and threatening Ghana’s cocoa sector
The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has raised deep concern over what it describes as a worsening crisis in Ghana’s cocoa sector, warning that the hardship facing farmers is reaching intolerable levels.
In a statement dated February 20, 2026, and signed by its President, Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, the Bishops lamented that many cocoa farmers have waited months without payment for beans already supplied. The delays, they said, have triggered unpaid wages, interrupted education for children, rising debt burdens, and growing exposure of vulnerable communities to illegal mining.
The Conference also criticised the recent reduction in the producer price of cocoa, arguing that it has further weakened morale and intensified financial distress across farming communities.
“While global market prices may fluctuate, farmers must not be made to carry the weight of systemic and historical failures,” the statement stressed, urging authorities to at least maintain current producer prices where increases are not possible.
The Bishops noted that during years of high international cocoa prices, farmers did not receive proportional increases, insisting that fairness demands accumulated gains be used to cushion them in difficult times. They described it as morally unjust to penalise farmers for circumstances beyond their control.
Beyond domestic concerns, the Conference warned of Ghana’s declining competitiveness in the global cocoa industry. It pointed out that Ecuador is poised to overtake Ghana as the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, while rising output from Nigeria and Cameroon adds pressure. Climate change and land degradation caused by illegal mining were also highlighted as serious threats.
The Bishops called for the immediate settlement of all outstanding payments to farmers, transparent financial restructuring of the Ghana Cocoa Board, sustained producer pricing, and renewed investment in productivity. They further urged a non-partisan national dialogue focused on farmers’ welfare, youth involvement, research, and value addition through local processing.
The Conference revealed that a comprehensive pastoral letter on the crisis has been privately submitted to President John Dramani Mahama and Parliament’s leadership for urgent consideration.
“The rescue of Ghana’s cocoa industry is not merely an economic duty,” the statement concluded. “It is a moral obligation. Justice for cocoa farmers is justice for Ghana.”
