THE COCOA INDUSTRY IS TOO VALUABLE TO FAIL – COCOBOD CE

Date: 06th August 2026

The Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Randy Abbey has affirmed the significance of the passage of the new Ghana Cocoa Board Bill, 2026 which seeks to strengthen and secure the future of Ghana’s cocoa industry.

Speaking at a media briefing in Accra, where he engaged a cross section of the media on the new bill, Dr. Abbey stressed that the cocoa industry is critical to the livelihoods of many Ghanaians across the cocoa value chain. Reiterating the necessity of the bill, the CE noted that beyond the almost 800,000 registered farmers on COCOBOD’s database, the cocoa industry supports thousands of others on the value chain making its sustenance critical.

“COCOBOD has about 800,000 registered cocoa farmers on our database. With an average of 5 members per cocoa family, we are looking at about 4 million lives that are connected to the cocoa industry. Apart from the farmers, we have other stakeholders in the value chain including staff, processors, Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) and haulers. This is too important an industry to be allowed to fail or fall. The repercussions will be so dire” he stated.

Addressing the need for the new Cocoa Bill, Dr. Abbey explained that the bill, which consolidates various existing enactments, is anchored on three main pillars: the need for a new funding model, a new pricing mechanism and the need to promote local value addition in the cocoa sector. 

According to him, the new bill is driven by the need to find lasting solutions to challenges, such as funding and pricing, within the cocoa industry.

“The bill was as a result of a search for how we could find some permanent or lasting solutions to problems in the industry. We thought we needed to do a lot of things on both the policy and the legal perspectives” he shared.

The Chief Executive further highlighted crucial provisions in the bill including measures to safeguard cocoa farms, farmer welfare, local content and participation and licensing regulations, essential elements for the long term sustainability of the cocoa sector.

He also addressed key misconceptions about the bill and encouraged stakeholders to review the final document once published to fully appreciate its provisions.

The media briefing formed part of COCOBOD’s stakeholder engagements to deepen understanding of the Ghana Cocoa Board Bill,2026 and the reforms it seeks to introduce.

Meanwhile, in attendance were the Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Agronomy and Quality Control, Dr. Francis Baah, Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Operations, Dr. James Kofi Kutsoati, Managing Director of Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC), Dr. Wisdom Kofi Dogbey, Executive Director of Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED), Dr. Richard Adu Acheampong, Executive Director of Seed Production Division (SPD), Dr. Francis Padi, Managing Director of Quality Control Company (QCC) as well as other Directors of COCOBOD.