A senior crop scientist has warned that the dry spell gripping Ghana’s cocoa belt will wipe out flowers and young pods across farms, worsening a harvest already projected to fall by at least 16% and threatening supplies from the world’s second-largest cocoa producer.
Dr Frank Ackah, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Crop Science at the University of Cape Coast, told The High Street Journal that cocoa flowers are highly sensitive to heat stress. “Once there is heat, all the flowers will abort,” he said. “And so you are not going to get the fruits.”
Dr. Ackah described the outlook as grave. “This is a very serious issue,” he said. “We are going to have a serious problem. This is going to have a serious effect on cocoa production.” He said pods already on the trees are failing to hold. “Even the fruit that are supposed to be there are all dropping.” He added: “I think this is a lesson to us.”
The warning comes as Ghana’s cocoa sector faces an expected production decline of at least 16% in the 2026/27 season, with adverse weather conditions, the cocoa tree’s natural bearing cycle and disease expected to weigh on output, Reuters reported.
The Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC) said in its statement, “The duration and severity of dry spells across Ghana’s cocoa belt will be important for the 2026/27 crop.” It added that prolonged heat and moisture stress during pod development could weigh on yields and tighten bean availability later in the season. The company urged farmers to conserve water and avoid bush burning.
The Ghana Meteorological Agency has warned of a harsher-than-usual Harmattan from late November, with drier conditions and prolonged dry spells. It also confirmed a strong El Niño on Nov. 1.
Dr. Ackah called for state support for irrigation. “Government should also subsidize irrigation facilities for cocoa farmers because it’s going to have a serious effect on production,” he said. He recommended portable sprinkler systems for farmers near water bodies. “You can just set up a sprinkler irrigation system, and move them from place to place.” For new plantings, he said, “The drip will help to manage water efficiently.”
He also urged farmers to use mulch. “We are encouraging farmers to heap all the dry leaves around the cocoa trees,” he said. “When you do that, it will conserve the moisture around the cocoa tree.”
He said COCOBOD should do more than supply inputs. “We are calling on Cocoa Board to provide more training on how farmers should manage their cocoa trees during the drought condition,” he said.
He questioned the timing of the government’s fertiliser distribution. “I have also seen the government distributing fertiliser at this period, and I see it to be too late,” Dr. Ackah said. Granular fertiliser must dissolve before roots can absorb it. “When there’s no rain, the cocoa tree is not going to get fertiliser.”
Dr. Ackah noted that the risk extends beyond Ghana. “Côte d’Ivoire is also going to experience the same,” he said. He urged policymakers to plan ahead. “Government should look at the projection and then try to find other alternative instead of relying so much on the cocoa, because we have to prepare ourselves for it.”
