The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has commenced a nationwide farmer sensitisation campaign to educate cocoa farmers on the reintroduced Free Fertiliser and Agro-Inputs Distribution Programme and major reforms aimed at revitalising the cocoa sector.
The campaign, being undertaken by the Public Affairs Department in collaboration with the Cocoa Diseases and Pest Control (CODAPEC) Unit of the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED), has started in the Western South and Ashanti cocoa-growing regions.
The exercise seeks to ensure that cocoa farmers understand the operational modalities of the free input distribution programme and the broader reforms designed to improve productivity, farmer livelihoods and the long-term sustainability of cocoa production.
Mr Benjamin Teye Larweh, the Deputy Head of Public Affairs at COCOBOD, commended cocoa farmers for their resilience and commitment despite the challenges confronting the sector in recent years.
He assured the farmers that the COCOBOD remained committed to restoring confidence in the industry through policy reforms, improved stakeholder engagement and interventions to enhance productivity and farmer welfare.
Mr Larweh explained that temporary delays in producer payments resulted from financing constraints linked to the sharp decline in international cocoa prices, adding that COCOBOD had released substantial funds to Licensed Buying Companies to settle outstanding payments.
He urged farmers to disregard misinformation about the cocoa sector and rely only on official communication from COCOBOD and its authorised representatives.
Mr Larweh disclosed that a new COCOBOD Bill was being prepared for parliamentary consideration to introduce reforms in producer price determination, crop financing, institutional governance and the protection of cocoa farms against illegal mining and other threats.
He said the Board was also implementing traceability and sustainability reforms to ensure compliance with the European Union Deforestation Regulation, African Regional Standards and other international requirements to safeguard Ghana’s premium cocoa market.
Mr Seidu Iddrisu Abu, the National Coordinator of Cocoa Disease and Pest Control (CODAPEC), said the reintroduced programme marked a shift from the previous subsidised input system to a fully government-funded intervention aimed at reducing production costs and improving transparency in input distribution.
He said only registered cocoa farmers with productive farms captured under the Cocoa Management System and other approved records would qualify for the programme, while abandoned, moribund and diseased farms, as well as those affected by illegal mining and land-use conversion, would be excluded.
Mr Abu said fertiliser allocation would be based on scientific agronomic assessments, with productive farms receiving three bags of granular fertiliser per acre, subject to a maximum of 10 acres per farmer, while younger and mature farms would receive inputs based on their specific needs.
He announced that the programme would be implemented through 247 decentralised community distribution centres supervised by Community Task Forces, with strict accountability measures, including beneficiary lists, communal fertiliser application, retrieval of empty fertiliser sacks and continuous field monitoring.
Mr Abu said COCOBOD was distributing 89,000 personal protective equipment, including overalls, wellington boots, gloves, nose masks, hats and goggles, to spraying gangs and, for the first time, society chief farmers to enhance safety under the CODAPEC programme.
He said the campaign would also educate farmers on a tertiary education scholarship scheme for wards of cocoa farmers scheduled to begin in the 2026/27 academic year as part of COCOBOD’s efforts to place farmers at the centre of the sector’s transformation.
