Former Vice President and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer for the 2028 general election, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has pledged to improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers as President of Ghana from January 7, 2029.
“I want to bring smiles back to the faces of our cocoa farmers. They have suffered long enough. Hope is coming,” Dr. Bawumia emphasised.
The former Vice President gave the assurance when he received the report of a special Minority Parliamentary Committee set up at his instance to tour cocoa-growing communities across Ghana, engage farmers directly, and document the hardships facing the sector following recent price reductions and growing operational challenges.
The committee, led by Minority Chief Whip Mr. Frank Annoh-Dompreh, undertook a nationwide tour of cocoa-growing belts, meeting farmers on their farms and in community gatherings to listen to their grievances, offer encouragement, and gather feedback on the state of the industry.
Receiving the report, Dr. Bawumia expressed deep gratitude to the committee for their diligence and to the farmers for their candour, pledging that the findings would not gather dust.
“I am referring this report immediately to our policy committee on Agriculture and Food Security. They will study it carefully and come up with concrete policy alternatives for our cocoa farmers. I will make an announcement in the coming weeks,” Dr Bawumia said.
The NPP Flagbearer used the occasion to recall the NPP government’s track record in the cocoa sector, specifically citing the 2017 intervention in which the government, despite a global price reduction in cocoa, ensured that Ghanaian farmers did not experience a drop in their farmgate prices.
“What we did in 2017 was a demonstration of our commitment to the Ghanaian cocoa farmer. When the world said prices must fall, we found a way to shield our farmers. We will do it again,” Dr. Bawumia recounted.
The cocoa sector has been under significant strain in recent months, with farmers raising concerns about reduced prices, delayed payments from COCOBOD, rising input costs, and the effects of galamsey on cocoa farmlands.
The NPP’s initiative has been praised by farmer groups as a tangible show of solidarity from an opposition that is listening.
Dr. Bawumia has assured the farmers that his upcoming policy announcement would be transformative, pledging that an NPP administration under his leadership would prioritise the revival of the cocoa sector as a cornerstone of Ghana’s agricultural economy.
