The Minority in Parliament has refuted claims that the government is implementing fresh and transformative policies for the cocoa sector.
According to the Ranking Member on the Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee, Dr. Yaw Owusu, all the recent interventions announced by the NDC government — including subsidies, free fertilizers, and scholarship schemes for cocoa farmers’ children — are not new, but rather old policies being recycled.
Speaking at a press briefing in Parliament, Dr. Owusu stated that the government’s portrayal of these initiatives as new is misleading.
He argued that farmers have benefited from similar programs under past administrations, and that there has been no introduction of any innovative or game-changing policy to transform the cocoa industry under the current government.
This rebuttal comes on the back of the Minority’s broader criticism of the 2024/2025 cocoa price adjustment, which they described as a betrayal of the farmers.
With the government pegging the producer price at $5,040 per tonne, the Minority said this represents a gross undervaluation of the farmers’ efforts and a failure to deliver on campaign promises of improved cocoa income.
