Accra: Former Member of Parliament for Sefwi Wiawso, Dr Kwaku Afriyie, has called on the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) to apologise to cocoa farmers. He accused the NDC government of using cocoa pricing as a political tool during the 2024 general elections only to abandon farmers after winning power.
According to Ghana Web, Dr Afriyie, who is also a cocoa farmer, said the high producer prices promised during the campaign were unsustainable and driven by political expediency rather than economic realities. "They should come clean and apologise to the cocoa farmers for deceiving us," he said, adding that individuals such as Eric Opoku and Samson Ahi, who championed the cocoa price agenda, were aware it was merely a political posturing. "They knew it was political, and they have benefited from it," he stated.
Dr Afriyie argued that the promise to increase cocoa producer prices played a significant role in securing electoral victory for the NDC but has now created difficulties for farmers. "They won the election because of the cocoa price. That was the political dividend. But here we are." He emphasized the need for the government to engage in dialogue as fulfilling the promised prices would result in financial loss. "We must give the government the leverage and call for dialogue because, honestly, if they try to pay the price as promised, they will be at a loss," he said.
Cocoa pricing was a major campaign issue ahead of the 2024 elections, particularly in the Western, Ashanti, Eastern, and Ahafo cocoa-growing regions. The NDC pledged to increase producer prices to GHS6,000 per 64-kilogramme bag, making farmer welfare a central campaign message. Dr Afriyie warned that post-election economic realities now clash with the campaign rhetoric. "They have already won power. The equilibrium will only come when cocoa is actually sold. In the real world, the farmers are suffering," he stated.
Despite the current challenges, he noted that cocoa remains one of Ghana's most equitable and reliable tree crops. "Cocoa remains the most democratic crop. Caretakers get one-third every year while the allodial owner gets two-thirds. Even with all the problems, cocoa is still a lucrative tree crop," he said. He stressed the need for sustainable and transparent decision-making in cocoa pricing. "We need dialogue, not politics. If government pays what it cannot sustain, everyone loses, including the farmers they claim to protect," he stressed.