Amid the current challenges in Ghana’s cocoa sector, Economist and political risk analyst, Dr. Theo Acheampong, is rallying public support for the reforms announced by the government to transform the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
The economist, who is convinced about the new measures of the government, says failure to support the implementation of such drastic measures will risk the slow erosion of one of the country’s most strategic institutions.
In a public comment on the newly announced cocoa sector reforms, Dr. Acheampong argues that the debate must shift from short-term discomfort to long-term survival. The central question, he suggests, is not whether reform is painful, but whether Ghana can afford not to act.
For him, he welcomes the new direction, which, among other things, emphasizes discipline. For years, COCOBOD’s balance sheet has absorbed quasi-fiscal programmes, legacy commitments, and mounting arrears, stretching its financial architecture beyond sustainable limits.
Industry costs ballooned to roughly 56 percent of gross FOB value, a level the June 2023 turnaround strategy itself described as unsustainable. The target to reduce that figure dramatically over three years is not cosmetic, he notes, it is existential.
He argues that when costs are bloated and financing models are misaligned with production realities, the system defaults to deficit financing. And when the system defaults, farmers feel it first, through payment delays, arrears, and weakened services.
The economist therefore embraces the reforms already set in motion, such as tighter fiscal-risk management, structured clearance of cocoa road arrears, a shift from heavy rollover-dependent trade finance to cedi-denominated domestic cocoa bonds, and renewed attention to production fundamentals.
These, he stresses, are necessary foundations.
However, he suggests that the policy papers alone will not fix COCOBOD. He believes that public support, including that of public officials and technocrats, is key.
The transformation, he argues, requires a cultural shift, from a top-heavy, obligation-laden institution to one that is leaner, financeable and governed by clear, measurable KPIs.
He insists that transparency in the affairs of COCOBOD must cease to exist on paper, but must be seen in action. Commitment controls, he adds, must become enforceable. Hard choices about what COCOBOD should, and should not, finance must be made without political hesitation.
For Dr. Acheampong, the reform agenda, in the long-run, is not anti-farmer; it is pro-farmer realism. A financially credible COCOBOD, he contends, is the only pathway to timely payments, predictable services, and restored investor confidence.
Without credibility in financing, no turnaround strategy can hold. Without supply-side recovery, no bond programme can endure.
“We must support reforms at COCOBOD to move it from a top-heavy institution into one that is leaner, financeable, and more transparent with clear KPIs. These reforms will go a long way to ensure that our hardworking farmers are paid on time,” he appealed.
The cocoa sector, which has long been a pillar of Ghana’s economic identity, now stands at a crossroads. Dr. Theo Acheampong believes that it is either the public rallies behind disciplined reform and rebuilds institutional integrity, or the cycle of arrears, refinancing risk, and declining production deepens.
