Cocoa farmers have called on the Government to suspend presidential assent to the Ghana Cocoa Board Bill, 2026, pending broader stakeholder consultations and public education.
The Ghana Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Association Limited said certain provisions of the legislation could limit farmers’ ability to repurpose cocoa farms that had become economically unproductive.
Mr Moses Djan Asiedu, Administrator of the Association, told the media that while farmers supported efforts to protect cocoa farms and sustain the sector, some aspects of the Bill required further review.
“We have told COCOBOD that they should ask the President to hold on with the assent because there are issues of concern. The farmers do not understand the law fully, and there should be more engagement,” he said.
The Association’s concerns focus on provisions that grant protected status to cocoa farms and restrict their conversion to other uses without approval from the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
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Mr Asiedu said limited understanding of the Bill among farmers could create uncertainty, especially in areas where cocoa production had declined due to low yields and other farm-level challenges.
He added that information circulating on social media and radio discussions had contributed to anxiety among farmers, particularly regarding alleged criminal penalties for cutting down cocoa trees.
“What they have heard is that if you cut down cocoa, you will be arrested. That is how it has been presented, and it has created anger among farmers,” he said.
Mr Asiedu said the Association had engaged farmers in Enchi, Dadieso, Asawinso and Sefwi in the Western North Region, where concerns were raised about the Bill’s implications for livelihoods and land-use decisions.
He said some farmers were particularly worried about how the law would treat farms that were no longer commercially viable and whether replacing cocoa with other crops could expose them to prosecution.
“Nobody wakes up and cuts down cocoa trees just like that. Farmers invest their lifetime in cocoa. But when a farm is no longer yielding and a farmer decides to cultivate another crop to sustain the family, why should that become a criminal offence?” he questioned.
The Ghana Cocoa Board Bill, 2026, passed by Parliament on July 30, is currently awaiting presidential assent.
The Bill seeks to grant protected status to all cocoa farms and prohibits their conversion to other uses without COCOBOD approval. It also prohibits the destruction of cocoa trees except under approved rehabilitation programmes.
Additionally, the legislation prohibits mining, sand winning and other extractive or environmentally harmful activities on protected cocoa farms or within 500 metres of such farms.
Persons engaged in illegal extractive activities affecting protected cocoa farms or nearby water bodies could face prison terms of between 10 and 20 years, fines for each affected cocoa tree, or both.
The courts may also order the restoration of damaged farms or compensation for affected owners.
The proposed legislation comes against the backdrop of concerns over the loss of cocoa-growing areas to illegal mining and other competing land uses, with implications for the sustainability of cocoa production and farmer livelihoods.
The Government has maintained that the Bill is intended to curb the increasing loss of cocoa farms to illegal mining and other competing land uses and safeguard the long-term sustainability of Ghana’s cocoa sector.
