Parliament has approved the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) Bill, 2026, paving the way for a major restructuring of Ghana's cocoa industry through a new governance framework, an alternative financing model and legal guarantees aimed at improving farmers' incomes and expanding local value addition.

The legislation, passed under a certificate of urgency, replaces the fragmented legal regime that has governed the cocoa sector for decades with a single, modern framework to regulate, supervise and promote activities across the cocoa value chain.

The new law formally establishes the Ghana Cocoa Board as the principal institution responsible for regulating cocoa production, marketing and exports, while strengthening institutional governance, financial accountability, sustainability and traceability within one of the country's most important export industries.

A key feature of the legislation is a statutory guarantee that cocoa farmers will receive not less than 70 per cent of the Free-On-Board (FOB) price of cocoa, effectively transforming an existing government policy into a legal obligation.

Presenting the Bill during the second reading in Parliament, Deputy Minister for Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, said the provision was intended to safeguard farmers' earnings from future policy reversals.

"We should legislate this so that it becomes binding and no one can decide tomorrow to reduce the farmers' share from 70 to 60 per cent."

"This is what some people are against. Some people do not want our farmers to be guaranteed a minimum of 70 per cent of the FOB price," he added.

Mr Ampem explained that the reforms also seek to resolve long-standing financing challenges confronting COCOBOD.

For more than three decades, he said, the Board depended largely on syndicated international loans to finance cocoa purchases during each crop season. However, Ghana's recent debt restructuring made that funding arrangement increasingly difficult to sustain, forcing COCOBOD to adopt buyer-led financing mechanisms.

According to him, the new legislation introduces a domestic financing framework that will enable the Board to mobilise local resources to purchase cocoa from farmers.

"This Bill introduces a new funding model that will enable COCOBOD to source financing locally to purchase cocoa beans from our hardworking farmers," he said.

Local value addition

The legislation also seeks to deepen local industrialisation by ensuring greater availability of cocoa beans for domestic processors.

Successive governments have sought to increase local processing to capture more value from Ghana's cocoa industry. However, officials say forward sales and the use of cocoa beans as collateral for financing have often limited supplies to local factories.

The new law addresses that challenge by requiring that at least 50 per cent of Ghana's cocoa production be reserved for domestic processing, a move expected to stimulate investment in chocolate manufacturing and other value-added cocoa products while creating employment opportunities.

The Bill further restructures the COCOBOD scholarship programme.

While children of cocoa farmers will continue to benefit from educational support, scholarships will increasingly prioritise programmes that contribute directly to the development and modernisation of Ghana's cocoa industry.

Minority welcomes reforms, raises governance concerns

During parliamentary deliberations, the Minority acknowledged the need to modernise the country's cocoa legislation.

The Member of Parliament for Effia, Isaac Yaw Boamah, said the existing legal framework had evolved through numerous amendments over several decades and required consolidation to reflect current realities.

"When you have so many fragmented pieces of legislation, it is important to consolidate them to reflect contemporary realities, including the registration and licensing regimes," he said.

However, he expressed reservations about aspects of the proposed governance structure, arguing that COCOBOD should operate with greater institutional independence.

He said he hoped to see a Board that functions with reduced external interference while maintaining transparency and accountability.

Background

Ghana remains the world's second-largest cocoa producer after Côte d'Ivoire, with the crop serving as one of the country's leading foreign exchange earners and providing livelihoods for hundreds of thousands of farming households.

The passage of the Ghana Cocoa Board Bill, 2026, forms part of broader government efforts to revitalise the cocoa industry through improved financing, stronger corporate governance, enhanced value addition and measures designed to secure higher incomes for farmers while positioning the sector for long-term sustainability.