Former Ashanti Regional Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dennis Kwakwa, has asserted that President John Dramani Mahama is the only leader in Ghana’s history since the era of Tetteh Quarshie to have reduced the cocoa producer price.
Speaking on ABC In the Morning, Kwakwa argued that the decision to cut the producer price under Mahama’s administration was unprecedented in the country’s cocoa sector.
“President Mahama has established himself as the only President of the Republic of Ghana since the days of Tetteh Quarshie to have reduced the cocoa producer price,” he stated.
Kwakwa contrasted this with what he described as the record of former President Nana Akufo-Addo, saying the New Patriotic Party government took deliberate steps to protect cocoa farmers despite unfavourable global market conditions.
According to him, when Akufo-Addo assumed office in 2017, world cocoa prices had declined, yet the government maintained the GHC 475.00 producer price inherited from the previous administration.
“When Akufo-Addo inherited government from John Mahama in 2017, the world prices of cocoa went down, yet he decided to maintain the price that John Mahama left in 2016 — GHC 475.00,” Kwakwa said.
He further explained that in 2018, despite a further dip in international cocoa prices, the Akufo-Addo administration opted not to reduce the producer price in order to avoid worsening the plight of farmers.
“In 2018, world market prices went further low. Akufo-Addo decided not to touch it because he didn’t want to impoverish the Ghanaian farmer,” he added.
Kwakwa noted that by 2019, as farming costs increased and global prices remained subdued, the government began to gradually adjust the producer price upwards.
He also referenced developments in 2023, when neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire increased its cocoa producer price, raising concerns about potential cross-border smuggling.
“When our neighbouring country Côte d’Ivoire decided to hike their prices, and we feared that our cocoa farmers would smuggle cocoa there, Nana Akufo-Addo took a very bold decision to increase the price beyond more than what could be paid,” he said.
The comments come amid renewed political debate over cocoa pricing policies and their impact on farmer livelihoods, as stakeholders continue to assess the performance of successive administrations in managing Ghana’s cocoa sector.
