The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has begun making payments to Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) to enable them to clear outstanding arrears owed cocoa farmers for beans already delivered.
The move follows mounting concerns over prolonged payment delays, which left many farmers unpaid for several months and triggered warnings about the sustainability of the cocoa sector.
The issue gained national attention on Thursday, February 5, when the Minority in Parliament cautioned that the situation was inflicting severe hardship on farmers and threatening the entire cocoa value chain.
COCOBOD had been accused of owing LBCs more than GH¢10 billion for cocoa already taken over, a development that significantly constrained the companies’ cash flow and limited their ability to pay farmers promptly.
However, the Board says it has made substantial disbursements in recent months to ease the situation.
Speaking in an interview on Citi FM, the Head of Corporate Communications at COCOBOD, Jerome Kwaku Sam, said the Board had released billions of cedis to LBCs since late 2025.
“In November, we paid over GH¢6 billion, in December more than GH¢5 billion, and in January another GH¢6 billion. This month alone, we have paid over GH¢620 million, and we are continuing to pay the LBCs so they can clear outstanding payments to farmers,” he said.
Mr Sam explained that the payment delays were largely due to difficulties in securing syndicated financing, which forced COCOBOD to adopt alternative funding arrangements with international cocoa buyers. Under the arrangement, LBCs pre-financed cocoa purchases, with COCOBOD reimbursing them at a later date.
He added that the Board is working closely with the current administration to develop a more sustainable financing model for the cocoa sector to prevent a recurrence of such delays.
According to him, COCOBOD remains committed to ensuring prompt payments to farmers and safeguarding the long-term stability of the cocoa industry, which remains a key pillar of Ghana’s economy.
