By Vincent Kwofie
The People’s Forum has launched a bold nationwide billboard campaign to amplify the growing anger among cocoa farmers following the government’s mid-season cut of the producer price to GH¢2,587 per 64kg bag.
The eye-catching billboards, erected across Accra and other strategic locations, depict a visibly exhausted cocoa farmer seated among harvested pods in a forest. With his head resting on his hand, the farmer stares pensively beneath the bold message: “OUR SWEAT, THEIR EXCUSES – GH¢2,587 PER BAG? HOW DO WE SURVIVE?” The visuals, rendered in striking red and white, also carry the hashtags #CocoaFarmersMatter and #JusticeForFarmers, calling for public solidarity while crediting The People’s Forum.
Background to the Price Reduction
The campaign follows the February 12, 2026 announcement by Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson that the Producer Price Review Committee (PPRC) had revised the cocoa producer price for the remainder of the 2025/2026 season to GH¢41,392 per tonne, equivalent to GH¢2,587 per bag.
This represents a 28.6 percent reduction from the GH¢3,625 per bag (GH¢58,000 per tonne) set at the start of the season in October 2025.
Government officials have defended the decision, citing a sharp fall in global cocoa prices—from record highs above $10,000–$12,000 per tonne in late 2024 to around $3,600–$3,700 per tonne in recent months. They also point to liquidity challenges at the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), delayed payments to farmers since late 2025, and a backlog of unsold cocoa beans.
According to officials, the revised price now represents about 90 percent of the achieved Free on Board (FOB) export value, up from roughly 70 percent previously.
Farmers Push Back
Despite these explanations, the price cut has sparked strong backlash across cocoa-growing regions, particularly in the Western North, Ashanti, and Eastern Regions. Farmers argue that rising costs of fertilisers, pesticides, and labour make the reduction unsustainable and threaten their livelihoods.
Farmer associations and opposition voices have described the move as unprecedented, noting that mid-season producer price reductions are rare. Critics also accuse the administration of failing to honour earlier projections of significantly higher producer prices, some previously estimated at over GH¢6,000 per bag.
A “Wake-Up Call”
The People’s Forum describes its billboard initiative as a “wake-up call” aimed at drawing national attention to what it calls the silent suffering of cocoa farmers. The group says consultations with farmers reveal widespread anger and warnings of possible demonstrations if concerns remain unaddressed.
Images of the billboards have circulated widely on social media, generating mixed reactions. While many Ghanaians have expressed solidarity with farmers and praised the campaign’s creativity, others continue to debate the broader economic constraints facing the cocoa sector.
As Ghana’s cocoa industry—one of the pillars of the national economy employing millions—grapples with global market volatility, the campaign has intensified the national conversation on farmer welfare. Whether it leads to policy review or renewed dialogue remains uncertain, but the message from farmers is unmistakable: survival under the current price regime is increasingly difficult.