Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has described the recent cocoa price reduction as a matter of “life and die” for farmers, warning that the decision threatens the survival of thousands of households in cocoa-growing communities.
Addressing Parliament, the Ranking Member on the Committee on Economy and Development said the issue must not be treated as routine economic policy but as a humanitarian crisis with real consequences for livelihoods.
“For those of us from cocoa-growing villages, this is not a matter of FOB percentages, 70 per cent, 90 per cent, or technical jargon. This is a matter of life and d!e for many cocoa farmers,” he told the House.
The Ofoase-Ayirebi MP formally delivered the Minority’s demand for Cabinet to urgently reconvene and restore the farmgate price to GH¢3,625 per 64kg bag, following its reduction to GH¢2,587.
“Just as Cabinet convened on an emergency basis to announce a reduction in the prices, we are asking Cabinet to reconvene and restore the bag price to GH¢3,625,” he stated.
Oppong Nkrumah questioned whether policymakers would personally withstand such financial losses.
“How many of us here, Members of Parliament, ministers of state, can suffer a loss of GH¢200,000 and survive? This is not theory. This is real life. This is the destruction of livelihoods.”
He also raised concerns about policy credibility. “Who will believe new financing models? Who will trust local financing ideas when, in the same cocoa year, farmers were promised GH¢3,625 and then had it cut before the season even ended?”
Recalling previous assurances, he said, “We sat in Cabinet meetings where it was clearly stated that no government should look cocoa farmers in the eye and reduce their prices.”
“They promised GH¢6,500. They didn’t even achieve GH¢3,600. And now, they want to cut it further. This is not reform. This is betrayal,” he added.
