Recent Reforms at Cocobod Aimed at Building Investor Confidence, Says Opoku-Agyemang

Brussels: Vice President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang has reaffirmed that Ghana's cocoa grading and quality control systems remain among the most rigorous globally. She emphasized that recent reforms at the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) were designed to ensure fairness and build investor confidence.According to Ghana News Agency, a statement from the Vice President's office highlighted her remarks made on the second day of the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels. At the Sustainable Cocoa Initiative Scale-up session, she addressed issues related to pricing, value addition, and farmer livelihoods. Prof Opoku-Agyemang underscored Ghana's journey from Tetteh Quarshie's first cocoa beans to a robust community of over 800,000 cocoa farmers today, emphasizing the need for sustainability coupled with fairness.The Vice President noted that while global demand for cocoa is strong and African consumption is increasing, the real risk lies in underinvestment and failing to capture the market's growing value. She poi nted out the issue of tariff escalation, where duties on processed cocoa products are higher than those on raw beans, affecting fair trade practices.Cocoa plays a central role in Ghana's broader economic transformation, aligning with the Government's Big Push Initiative for agro-industrialization and the Connect24 pillar of the 24-Hour Economy. The Living Income Differential (LID), introduced with la Côte d'Ivoire, reflects a commitment to ensuring fair earnings for farmers. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) also provides a platform for building regional value chains to retain more wealth within Africa.Despite these opportunities, financing challenges persist. Investments often focus on multinational or state-owned facilities, leaving local processors with high borrowing costs and limited capital access. Prof Opoku-Agyemang called for structured blended financing models that combine capital investment with affordable working capital, risk-sharing mechanisms, and technical support, particula rly for small and rural processors.She stated that the EU Sustainable Cocoa Initiative and the Global Gateway Framework are well-positioned to support such partnerships. Recent global cocoa price hikes, driven by supply shortfalls, highlight the urgency of joint action to enhance industry resilience. Ghana remains open to partnerships that improve disease and pest control and establish commercial plantations to ensure quality and predictability.Prof Opoku-Agyemang concluded by stating that Ghana's path forward is clear: moving beyond exporting raw cocoa beans to building an economy that empowers farmers, creates jobs, and promotes sustainability. She expressed confidence that together, a cocoa sector can be built that not only satisfies global demand but also enriches the lives of farmers and communities involved.