Also known as: Cocoa Board
COCOBOD — Ghana's cocoa sector agency managing purchase financing and commercial programs, facing GH¢4bn debt that threatens 2026/27 season funding.
Verbatim sentences from the source article.
Daily Guide
Thomas Ampem Nyarko COCOBOD’s indebtedness to fertilizer and agrochemical suppliers from 2021 to 2024 is part of broader financial challenges inherited in the cocoa sector, Deputy Finance Minister, Thomas Ampem Nyarko, has told Parliament. …
COCOBOD Debt To Agrochemical Suppliers Tied To Financial Strain – Deputy Finance MinisterBusiness & Financial Times
… The call for greater cooperation was reinforced by COCOBOD Chief Executive Dr. Randy Abbey, who urged both countries to deepen trust, transparency and policy alignment to maximise their influence in international cocoa markets. …
Can harmonised cocoa prices help top producers tackle market volatility and climate risks?Joy Online
COCOBOD is too important to be discussed through slogans alone. The COCOBOD Files was launched as a civic intelligence project to examine a simple question: What happened to COCOBOD between 2017 and 2026? …
The COCOBOD files: A CompendiumJoy Online
… Head of Public Affairs at Cocobod, Jerome Sam, says the decision was driven largely by concerns about the welfare and livelihoods of farmers who have already endured significant challenges over the past year. …
Cocoa farmers spared another blow as gov’t rejects price cut despite global slump – COCOBODJoy Online
Government has chosen to maintain cocoa producer prices despite declines in international markets, a decision aimed at protecting farmers’ incomes and livelihoods, according to COCOBOD’s Head of Public Affairs, Jerome Sam. …
While Côte d’Ivoire cuts cocoa prices, Ghana holds the line to protect farmers – COCOBODJoy Online
COCOBOD has defended the government’s decision to intervene in cocoa pricing during the current season, describing the move as an extraordinary but necessary step to protect farmers and safeguard the sector. …
‘We had to save the sector’ – COCOBOD defends unprecedented cocoa price interventionJoy Online
… rantees farmers a minimum of 70 per cent of the gross FOB price, a transition to domestic financing through a cedi-denominated cocoa bond, a mandate to process at least 50 per cent of cocoa locally from the 2026/27 crop season, and a balance sheet restructuring to restore COCOBOD …
A New Dawn for Ghana Cocoa: Reforms set to improve farmer livelihoods and financial sustainabilityJoy Online
… Dr Francis Baah, Deputy Chief Executive for Agronomy and Quality Control at COCOBOD, focused his address on aligning policy and practice to strengthen cocoa systems. …
Ghana’s policy leadership on sustainable supply chains takes centre stage at global summitBusiness & Financial Times
… According to him, beneficiaries will also receive practical training and extension services through a partnership with the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) of COCOBOD to ensure effective use of the inputs provided. …
205 cocoa farmers receive support from Gold Fields FoundationThe Chronicle
… He further disclosed that beneficiaries would receive practical training and extension services through a partnership with the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) of COCOBOD to ensure the effective application of the inputs. …
GoldFields intensifies support for cocoa farmersSecondary bond market activity slowed with turnover declining 28.56% week-to-week to GH¢1.56 billion, concentrated in the 2031-2034 segment. Databank Research expects modest improvement this week from month-end portfolio rebalancing, though gains may be limited as investors redirect liquidity toward COCOBOD's GH¢16.3bn issuance programme.
28 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Secondary bond market activity slowed with turnover declining 28.56% week-to-week to GH¢1.56 billion, concentrated in the 2031-2034 segment. Databank Research expects modest improvement this week from month-end portfolio rebalancing, though gains may be limited as investors redirect liquidity toward COCOBOD's GH¢16.3bn issuance programme.
28 September 2026 · Joy Online →
COCOBOD's first offering under its GH¢16.3 billion Cocoa Notes Programme may use proceeds to repay a bridge loan linked to legacy debt, though the investor presentation presented it as funding for cocoa purchases. The prospectus permits commercial paper proceeds to be used first to repay bridge funding, creating an unresolved question about whether this aligns with the stated allocation of commercial paper for cocoa purchases and bonds for refinancing existing obligations.
28 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Cargill Ghana and the International Cocoa Initiative have celebrated 111 young graduates who completed vocational apprenticeship training programs between 2023 and 2026 in the Western North Region. The initiative aims to provide practical skills and economic opportunities to young people with limited access to further education.
24 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Ghana is struggling to raise money domestically to finance cocoa purchases for the 2026/27 season, with licensed buyers warning that GH¢4 billion in unpaid debts could prevent them from buying beans from farmers. Local institutional investors are demanding higher risk premiums and coupon rates; syndicated international funding has dried up since Ghana's 2022 economic crisis and 2023 debt exchange.
16 September 2026 · Joy Online →
The Chamber of Cocoa Marketers Ghana warns that Licensed Buying Companies may struggle to return to farms to buy cocoa when the 2026/27 season opens if Cocobod does not settle its outstanding debt of nearly GH¢4 billion. The outstanding debt prevents LBCs from securing fresh credit while servicing loans from previous seasons, with some companies borrowing at interest rates up to 40 per cent.
15 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Ghana's parliamentary Minority has renewed calls for an inquiry into the Ghana Gold Board, citing a World Bank economic update that described GoldBod operations as a "significant and insufficiently monitored risk" to the economy and raised concerns about how gold reserves acquired through the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme are tracked.
9 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Secondary market activity weakened with turnover falling 68.28% to GH¢2.12 billion, with trading concentrated in 2031-2034 maturities. In the primary market, a new four-year bond maturing in September 2030 attracted GH¢4.46 billion in bids, with GH¢3.15 billion accepted at 12.00% clearing yield.
8 September 2026 · Joy Online →
The Tumu Traditional Council gave President Mahama a smock during his visit last year when he promised to fix the Wa-Tumu Road, but intentionally kept the hat, which will only be handed over when he returns to commission the completed road. The chiefs say road development is now happening for the first time in Sissala and expressed appreciation, while urging the government to pay contractors to complete work including a road to the Overlord's Palace.
7 September 2026 · Joy Online →
An opinion piece argues that the Chief Justice's visits to state-owned enterprises to assess their performance fall outside his constitutional remit, which limits him to heading the Judiciary and presiding over the Supreme Court, and constitute an unconstitutional blurring of separation of powers.
6 September 2026 · Joy Online →
NPP Communications Director Dennis Miracles Aboagye has accused the government of putting a political spin on the latest SIGA report by presenting reported profits by state-owned enterprises as evidence of a dramatic turnaround in their performance, questioning whether institutions with longstanding structural challenges could realistically have been transformed within one year.
5 September 2026 · Joy Online →
State-owned enterprises in Ghana recorded total revenue of GH¢176.43 billion in 2025, a 28.12 per cent increase from GH¢137.64 billion in 2024, with net profit after tax reaching GH¢19.80 billion, according to the State Ownership Report released by the State Interests and Governance Authority.
1 September 2026 · Joy Online →
The Electricity Company of Ghana accounted for GH¢82.31 billion of total liabilities held by Ghana's state-owned enterprises in 2025, according to SIGA's State Ownership Report. Despite an overall 4.31 per cent decline in combined SOE liabilities to GH¢281.99 billion, SIGA warned that significant financial risks remained concentrated in a small number of entities, with ECG among five SOEs that recorded losses in each year from 2021 to 2025.
31 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Ghana's state-owned enterprises recorded a consolidated net profit after tax of GH¢19.80 billion in the 2025 financial year, ending four consecutive years of net losses, according to SIGA's 2025 State Ownership Report. Total SOE revenue increased by 28.12 per cent from GH¢137.64 billion to GH¢176.43 billion, marking a significant turnaround from the GH¢2.25 billion net loss in 2024.
31 August 2026 · Joy Online →
The Ghana National Cocoa Farmers Association warns that the newly enacted Ghana Cocoa Board Law offers no clear strategy to attract young people and technological innovation into the sector, citing the average cocoa farmer's age of 63 years as a significant threat to industry sustainability.
27 August 2026 · Joy Online →
The spokesperson for the Ghana National Cocoa Farmers Association has criticized the consultation process for the Ghana Cocoa Board Bill, 2026, as inadequate and poorly managed, saying farmers and stakeholders were insufficiently engaged before the bill was passed under a certificate of urgency and signed by President Mahama on August 26.
27 August 2026 · Joy Online →
The World Bank's 10th Ghana Economic Update reports the economy grew 6.0 per cent in 2025 and 6.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, with public debt declining to 49.0 per cent of GDP; however, the bank warns macroeconomic gains have not yet translated sufficiently into jobs, and that 56.4 per cent of Ghanaians remain in poverty.
27 August 2026 · The Chronicle →
The Cocoa Marketing Company has launched a 24-hour operational model to improve cocoa movement across Ghana's logistics and export value chain, as part of President Mahama's 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme. The initiative, structured around three pillars—Offload 24, Load 24 and Export 24—extends critical cocoa operations beyond conventional working hours at Take-Over Centers in Tema, Kumasi and Takoradi.
22 August 2026 · Joy Online →
The Cocoa Marketing Company has launched a comprehensive 24-hour operational model under three pillars—Offload 24, Load 24, and Export 24—to improve cocoa movement across logistics and export, implemented at CMC take-over centres in Tema, Kumasi, and Takoradi as part of Ghana's 24-Hour Economy programme.
22 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Economist Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin says the GoldBod initiative has significantly reduced gold smuggling and helped Ghana retain more foreign exchange from artisanal and small-scale mining, with the gap between Ghana's gold export figures and those of importing countries narrowing significantly since GoldBod's introduction.
18 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Economist Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin says GoldBod has successfully helped Ghana retain foreign exchange from the gold sector and narrowed the smuggling gap, but argues the programme suffered major design defects that better planning and expert input could have prevented.
18 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Ghana has introduced stronger legal measures through a new COCOBOD Act, including clauses that regulate cocoa farm conversion and impose criminal sanctions, aiming to prevent farm destruction from illegal mining and other unlawful activities. An opinion piece argues that while protecting cocoa is legitimate, the law should not extend beyond what is necessary to address the problem.
10 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Economist Prof. Godfred Bokpin warns that weaknesses in Ghana's energy sector pose a threat to fiscal stability and calls for greater transparency, broader consultation, and clearly defined private-sector participation in electricity distribution. He notes that problems at the Electricity Company of Ghana—including high distribution losses, weak revenue collection, and financial burdens on the state—predate the current IMF programme, though the programme has improved transparency and revenue distribution mechanisms.
8 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Economist Prof. Godfred Bokpin says state-owned enterprises, including the Electricity Company of Ghana and COCOBOD, have cost Ghana between 2.5% and 3.2% of its GDP over the past 15 to 20 years through inefficiencies. He calls for stronger policy reforms targeting these enterprises and greater transparency on any private-sector participation in ECG.
8 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Economist Prof. Godfred Bokpin has urged greater transparency and national consultation on Ghana's electricity sector reforms, warning that ECG's financial challenges pose a major risk to fiscal stability. He notes that long-standing structural problems including inefficiencies, weak revenue collection, and power generation obligations predate the current IMF programme.
8 August 2026 · Joy Online →
An NPP Communications Team member has criticised the government for fast-tracking the proposed Cocoa Protection Bill without broader stakeholder consultation, arguing that cocoa farmers and industry players were excluded from its development and that some provisions are too harsh, including prison terms of 10–20 years for unlawful farm conversion.
5 August 2026 · Joy Online →
An opinion article praises Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, Ghana's Minister for Finance under John D. Mahama, for exercising disciplined leadership during economic recovery from a severe crisis, including interventions in the cocoa sector.
5 August 2026 · Joy Online →
The opposition NPP has accused Attorney General Dominic Ayine of using his office to secure the release of NDC members and allies facing corruption prosecutions, citing the Court of Appeal's acquittal of former MASLOC CEO Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu and discontinuation of the SSNIT financial loss case as examples of what it claims is a deliberate pattern.
31 July 2026 · Joy Online →
The new CEO of Ghana International Bank spent 10 working days in Ghana during his first month to understand the bank's customers and communities, and believes GHIB's greatest opportunities lie in financing trade and partnering with Ghanaian businesses as they expand internationally. Since its establishment in 1959, the bank has served as a bridge between Ghana and the world's financial markets.
31 July 2026 · Joy Online →
COCOBOD projects a 16% decline in Ghana's cocoa production for the 2026–2027 season, citing El Niño conditions, excessive rain, the cocoa tree's natural bearing cycle, and disease. The Western and Western North regions, which account for more than half of Ghana's output, face additional pressure from swollen shoot disease, ageing farms, and illegal gold mining.
31 July 2026 · Joy Online →
The Ofoase Ayirebi MP and Ranking Member on Parliament's Economy and Development Committee warned that the government's proposed cocoa pricing formula could leave farmers worse off by undermining the minimum guaranteed farm-gate price, and called for broad stakeholder consultation before Parliament rushes through Cocoa Board reforms.
29 July 2026 · Joy Online →