Frederick Amissh, Technical Advisor to the Ministry of Finance, has defended the continued existence of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), stressing that the institution remains central to the functioning of the country’s cocoa sector despite ongoing concerns about efficiency and cost.
His comments come amid heightened debate over the value of the agency following criticisms from economists and policy analysts who argue that farmers are short-changed in the distribution of cocoa earnings.
Speaking in response to public discussion on whether COCOBOD is necessary, Mr. Amissh described the issue as a “philosophical argument” that applies not only to COCOBOD but also to other state agencies.
“We cannot seem to suggest that these agencies are not important. Cocoa Board, for example, we are saying that they are supposed to tax at 30 percent on the farmer.
“But the farmer doesn’t transport, the farmer doesn’t export, the farmer doesn’t ship. They don’t pay Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs). Buyers go to the farm gate. Farmers never do that. All of that cost is in the remaining 30 percent.”
Frederick Amissh, Technical Advisor to the Ministry of Finance
He cautioned against portraying COCOBOD merely as an institution that siphons money from farmers, noting that it plays roles beyond revenue collection. “We place an impression that maybe it’s just an entity that is just there to siphon money from farmers, but it provides other services,” he explained.
Efficiency Drive
While conceding that efficiency concerns remain, he emphasized that the government has already initiated restructuring to streamline operations. Among the changes being introduced, Mr. Amissh disclosed that COCOBOD will no longer undertake fiscal activities such as the controversial cocoa roads projects.
“Cocoa Board, effectively, in the next amendment that is coming to the Act, will be banned from undertaking all these things, like fiscal activities. In fact, we had already announced that they had been banned from going on with these cocoa roads and other fiscal activities. All the outstanding cocoa road projects have been transferred to the Ministry of Roads and Highways”.
Frederick Amissh, Technical Advisor to the Ministry of Finance,
According to him, this restructuring is designed to improve efficiency while focusing COCOBOD’s mandate on regulation and market stability.
“Apart from ensuring efficient markets, entities are also set up for other reasons—they provide employment, they provide regulation, they provide stability. So there are broader reasons for keeping such institutions”.
Frederick Amissh, Technical Advisor to the Ministry of Finance
Cocoa Pricing
Addressing claims that the current government has misrepresented cocoa pricing, the advisor insisted that the record is clear. He accused the previous administration of failing to declare the true Free on Board (FOB) price to farmers.
“The NPP says we lied when we said that they were cheating cocoa farmers. We didn’t lie. In 2024, the FOB price they quoted, from which they paid 63 percent to farmers, was $4,850. But the prevailing FOB price at that time averaged $7,300. So they were keeping $2,450 of cocoa farmers’ money”.
Frederick Amissh, Technical Advisor to the Ministry of Finance
By contrast, he said, the current government has been transparent with international market figures. “In our case, we have quoted the average price as it is—$7,200 on the international market—and we gave 70 percent of the FOB price to the farmers. So we didn’t lie when we said they were keeping cocoa farmers’ money,” he insisted.
Commitment to Sector Reforms
Mr. Amissh also touched on the broader vision for reforming the sector, particularly the push towards commercial farming. He revealed that the government is working to secure over 200,000 hectares of land that will be farmed through partnerships with the private sector.
“Government is not going to farm the land but will partner with the private sector. Because of the nature of the land tenure system in the country, you need the state to use its sovereign power to acquire the land and later hand it over to the private sector to farm it. So a lot of work is ongoing into this to ensure that we would have an environmentally stable way of improving our cocoa farms”.
Frederick Amissh, Technical Advisor to the Ministry of Finance,
The technical advisor acknowledged the ongoing public concerns about COCOBOD’s large staff numbers and wage bill, which some critics say consume resources that could otherwise reach farmers.
He said those issues are being addressed under the restructuring plan, but he stressed that employment creation was also part of the rationale behind COCOBOD’s existence. “It’s a broader conversation we all have in the restructuring of Cocoa Board which is happening,” he noted.
Mr. Amissh’s defense of COCOBOD reflects the government’s attempt to balance criticism of inefficiencies with assurances of reform. The institution, established in 1947, has long been at the center of Ghana’s cocoa industry, overseeing marketing, regulation, and farmer support.
However, in recent years, it has come under pressure from farmers, civil society, and economists who argue that mismanagement, high administrative costs, and opaque pricing mechanisms disadvantage those who cultivate the crop.
For Mr. Amissh, while those criticisms cannot be dismissed, the solution lies in reforming rather than abolishing the institution. “It’s something we can talk about, and that is why there’s a Cocoa Board restructuring going on,” he stressed.
By limiting COCOBOD’s fiscal activities, aligning cocoa prices with global averages, and encouraging commercial cocoa farming through private-sector partnerships, he argued that the government is committed to building a more efficient and sustainable industry.
The debate over COCOBOD’s future is likely to continue, as farmers and stakeholders weigh the government’s promises against long-standing challenges in the sector. But for the Ministry of Finance, the position remains clear: COCOBOD must adapt, not disappear.
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