Singapore: Mr. Wisdom Kofi Dogbey, Managing Director of Cocoa Marketing Company (Ghana) Limited (CMC), has called for a fairer distribution of cocoa value benefits across the global cocoa supply chain. Mr. Dogbey made the call at the 4th CAA International Cocoa Conference 2026 in Singapore, where global cocoa and chocolate industry stakeholders are discussing supply, prices, sustainability, investment, and other developments shaping the sector.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr. Dogbey urged traders, grinders, manufacturers, investors, and other international cocoa stakeholders to treat farmer income as a supply-security issue rather than merely a social intervention. He warned that Ghana and other cocoa-producing countries could not sustainably rebuild production if farmers remained economically disadvantaged. Highlighting the financial disparity, he noted that cocoa farmers, who carried out the hard work of producing the crop, received less than 10 per cent of the profits generated across the international value chain.
Mr. Dogbey emphasized that the future of cocoa supply should be considered beyond international prices, trading strategies, and sourcing diversification, focusing instead on whether farmers had sufficient incentive to maintain, rehabilitate, and replant their farms. 'Put the money back into the farm,' he told the conference, adding, 'Our adversary in this cycle is volatility, not each other.'
He further highlighted that under the administration of President John Dramani Mahama, Ghana had enacted the Ghana Cocoa Board Act, 2026, which legally ensures that Ghanaian cocoa farmers receive 70 per cent of the world market price. This statutory backing supports several farmer-focused measures, including a minimum farmer share of FOB value, the Cocoa Farmers Pension Scheme, an educational trust for farmers' children, protection of cocoa farmland, and support for increased domestic processing.
Mr. Dogbey also addressed Ghana's cocoa production challenges, such as Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease, ageing trees, excessive rainfall, changing weather patterns, mining encroachment, and declining productivity. He stressed that these issues could not be sustainably addressed unless farming provided producers with a compelling reason to reinvest. 'The replanting rate is set by what the farmer expects to earn when the new tree bears, not by what the extension service recommends,' he said.
He advocated for the Living Income Differential, introduced by Ghana and C´te d'Ivoire to improve producer incomes, to be allowed to deliver its intended benefits. On sustainability and traceability requirements, he stated that the financial burden should be fairly shared, noting Ghana's significant investment in farm mapping, geolocation, and farmer registration to meet international due-diligence requirements.
Finally, Mr. Dogbey urged international cocoa companies to invest in Ghana's productive capacity rather than merely sourcing cocoa from the country. He argued that the sustainable recovery of Ghana's cocoa sector required investment in farm rehabilitation, improved inputs, accessible finance, new planting, and opportunities for irrigated cocoa production. He emphasized that the future of the global cocoa industry ultimately depended on creating an economically sustainable cocoa farmer.