Policy think tank, Africa Policy Lens (APL) has called for urgent structural reforms to ensure better management of the cocoa sector.

The APL, following recent crisis in the cocoa sector, released a comprehensive paper in which it criticised management of COCOBOD for its poor handling of the cocoa sectors, highlighted in detail, the impact of government's price reduction on cocoa farmers as well as the way forward to ensure effective management of the sector.

In its proposal for reforms, the APL made five key recommendations, which it said should be considered for urgent structural reforms.

Below are the recommendations the policy think tank made in its recommendations:

1. Independent Risk Management Framework:

Establish an autonomous commodity risk committee within COCOBOD, staffed by market economists and hedging specialists, to
oversee forward sales, price stabilization strategies, and exchange-rate assumptions.

2. Statutory Price Stabilization Fund:

Ring-fence and legally protect a cocoa stabilization
reserve that cushions farmers during downturns, rather than transferring volatility directly
to producers.

3. Mandatory Forward-Sales Transparency: Require public disclosure of forward sales
volumes (percentage of projected output), hedging positions, and realized price
benchmarks before each crop season.

4. Exchange-Rate Neutral Pricing Formula: Remove discretionary exchange-rate
adjustments from farmgate pricing calculations and tie producer prices strictly to realized FOB contracts.

5. Leadership Accountability Mechanism: Introduce parliamentary oversight hearings tied to pricing outcomes and financial performance of the cocoa sector.