The government, through the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), is transitioning its Cocoa Scholarship Scheme from supporting senior high school (SHS) education to fully funding tertiary education for children of cocoa farmers. This move follows the Free SHS policy, which now covers tuition, feeding, accommodation, books, and uniforms previously supported by the scholarship.
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia announced the change during the Farmers Day celebration on November 8, 2024, in Jacobu, Ashanti Region.
He highlighted that this shift ensures continued support for cocoa farming families while addressing the need to develop Ghana’s human capital for economic growth.
This policy aligns with the government’s broader strategy of transforming agriculture into a driver of industrial development. Key initiatives include the construction of 80 warehouses under One District One Warehouse, 400 dams under One Village One Dam, and agro-processing factories under One District One Factory.
COCOBOD is currently going through difficult times, raising doubts about the feasibility of this proposal taking off next year.
Although COCOBOD is struggling, the cocoa sector generally has seen significant gains due to unprecedented surge in global price, with producer prices in Ghana rising from GHȼ475 per bag in 2016 to GHȼ3,000 in September 2024 and now at GH¢3,100. “This government has raised the price of a bag of cocoa from GHȼ475 in 2016 to GHȼ3,000, unprecedented in our history. The Cocoa Rehabilitation programme, which saw the cutting down of diseased trees and the replanting of new crops and improved varieties has been very successful. As you know, plantain suckers were also planted for free to provide a livelihood and income to the farmers while the Cocoa grows,” Dr. Bawumia stated.
The Cocoa Rehabilitation program replaced diseased trees with improved varieties, while interim support through plantain sucker distribution provided farmers with alternative income during the transition.
Dr. Bawumia emphasized the importance of empowering farmers and their families through targeted policies. He pledged to establish District Agricultural Mechanization Centers to provide farmers with tools and training for enhanced productivity.
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) established the Cocoa Scholarship Scheme to support the education of cocoa farmers’ children, primarily at the senior high school (SHS) level. Annually, the scheme sponsored approximately 7,500 students for the three-year SHS program or 10,000 students for the four-year stream.
In the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 academic years, COCOBOD allocated a total of GH¢7,294,572 (approximately US$1,569,839) to the Farmers’ Wards Scholarship Trust Fund. However, the 2020 Auditor General’s report revealed that these funds were misapplied during that period.
With the implementation of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy in 2017, which absorbed costs previously covered by the scholarship, COCOBOD decided to redirect the funds. The organization announced plans to invest in educational infrastructure, such as building model schools in cocoa-growing communities, to enhance access to quality education.
In May 2024, COCOBOD inaugurated the COCOBOD Education Trust, marking a strategic shift from providing scholarships to focusing on developing primary school infrastructure in underserved cocoa-growing areas.
This initiative aims to bridge the educational and infrastructural gap between rural and urban schools, ensuring a conducive learning environment for children in cocoa-growing communities.
The strategic shift in the Cocoa Scholarship Scheme will mark a new chapter in Ghana’s commitment to supporting cocoa farmers and their families, if it is implemented.
