NDC gurus who tricked cocoa farmers for power
23rd February 2026
For decades, cocoa has been more than a crop in Ghana — it has been a political currency, an electoral weapon, and a symbol of rural survival.
In the 2024 general elections, that political power was fully weaponised by the National Democratic Congress (NDC), as the party built its campaign message around cocoa farmers’ pain, poverty, and frustration.
At the heart of that campaign were four influential figures who later benefitted from the power switch: President John Dramani Mahama, Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, and the MD for GoldBod, Sammy Gyamfi.
Together, they constructed a powerful political narrative that promised dignity, prosperity, and justice for cocoa farmers — a narrative that helped deliver electoral victory, but which today has collapsed under the weight of policy reversals, broken promises, naked propaganda and economic reality.
The Cocoa Strategy That Won Power
In opposition, the NDC framed cocoa as a symbol of state neglect. Party communicators, MPs, and flagbearer repeatedly accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of exploiting farmers through low prices, delayed payments, and mismanagement of the Ghana Cocoa Board. Cocoa was no longer just agriculture — it became a moral issue and a political rallying cry.
On campaign platforms across the Western North, Western, Ashanti, Ahafo, Bono, and Eastern Regions, John Dramani Mahama presented himself as the farmer’s president-in-waiting.
He pledged to “restore dignity to cocoa farmers” through: Higher producer prices, Payment of at least 70% of Free-On-Board (FOB) value, Restoration of bonus payments, Free fertilizers and agrochemicals, Solar-powered boreholes and irrigation systems on cocoa farms.
Cheap Agricultural Credit
Strong state protection against exploitation and smuggling
The message was emotionally powerful and politically effective: “When the NDC comes, the farmer will smile.”
The Numbers That Seduced Farmers
The most powerful campaign tool was pricing. Across political platforms, NDC communicators consistently attacked existing producer prices as “insulting” and “criminal.” Farmers were told: Cocoa would be priced at not less than GH¢6,000 per 64kg bag, farmers would receive 70% of FOB, and the cocoa economy would be “restructured” in favour of rural producers.
Sammy Gyamfi, as the party’s chief communicator, popularised the “70% of FOB” narrative, presenting it as an NDC policy doctrine and accusing the NPP of deliberately cheating farmers.
Sammy Gyamfi —CEO of GoldBod
Eric Opoku, then an opposition figure on agriculture, reinforced this message by attacking existing cocoa structures and raising expectations of a radical farmer-first transformation.
Dr. Eric Opoku
Cassiel Ato Forson, also in opposition, positioned himself as part of a superior economic team that would protect farmers from price shocks and market instability.
For many cocoa farmers, this was not abstract politics — it was hope. Hope of higher income. Hope of financial security. Hope of escaping poverty.
Hope that cocoa would finally reward their labour.
From Campaign Rhetoric To Government Reality
After the elections, the political roles changed: John Mahama became President, Cassiel Ato Forson became Finance Minister, and Eric Opoku became Minister for Food and Agriculture
Sammy Gyamfi became Managing Director of Ghana GoldBod and Randy Abbey who described the NPP government as useless on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana for not handling the cocoa sector well became CEO of COCOBOD.
With power secured, cocoa policy shifted from rhetoric to governance. By February 2026, the government announced a mid-season cocoa price reduction that shocked the country.
The new producer price for the 2025/2026 season was fixed at: GH¢41,392 per metric tonne, GH¢2,587 per 64kg bag.
This was a sharp reduction from the GH¢58,000 per tonne (GH¢3,625 per bag) set in October 2025 — a 28.6% cut in the middle of the season.
For farmers, the impact was devastating: Over GH¢1,038 lost per bag, More than GH¢16,600 lost per tonne, Loans defaulted, School fees unpaid, Inputs unpaid, and Labour costs unpaid.
The same farmers who were promised GH¢6,000+ per bag were now earning less than half that figure.
Shock, Anger And Disillusionment
Across cocoa-growing regions, disappointment quickly turned into anger. Farmers felt deceived, not merely disappointed.
In villages and towns across the cocoa belt, the same accusation emerged:
“They used cocoa to win power.”
Many farmers said they voted specifically because of cocoa promises. The sense of betrayal was deeper because the promises were specific, repeated, and central to the NDC’s campaign strategy.
For many, this was not a policy failure— it was a moral betrayal.
In Sefwi Wiawso, where cocoa remains the backbone of household income for more than 70% of families, anger has spilled into the streets.
Farmers displayed their anger through public demonstrations, on February 19 as frustration turns into organized resistance.
Similar tensions are building in cocoa districts across the Ashanti, Ahafo, and Western North Regions, where farmers describe the decision as the harshest economic shock they have ever experienced in their farming lifetimes.
For many farmers, the pain is not only financial — it is psychological. Cocoa farming, once viewed as a stable livelihood and generational inheritance, is now being redefined as a risky survival struggle
The Government’s Defense
The National Democratic Congress government justified the cut using economic arguments: Falling global cocoa prices, Currency dynamics, Liquidity constraints, Pressure on COCOBOD’s financing model, and Global market realignments.
Cassiel Ato Forson and other officials argued the adjustment was necessary to prevent a collapse of the cocoa sector and insisted the revised price still exceeded statutory minimums under the cocoa pricing formula.
Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson —Minister of Finance
But critics point out a contradiction:
When COVID-19 and the Russia–Ukraine war affected Ghana’s economy under the NPP, NDC leaders rejected “external factors” as excuses.
Today, those same leaders rely on global market forces as justification.
To many farmers, this looks like political hypocrisy.
The NPP Counter-Argument
The New Patriotic Party has framed the crisis as proof of deception, arguing that the NDC: made unrealistic promises, used cocoa as an electoral tool, raised false expectations, Won power, and abandoned farmers.
They point to 2017, when global cocoa prices collapsed from over $3,000 to about $1,800 per tonne, yet the Akufo-Addo government did not slash farmgate prices, choosing instead to protect farmers from market shocks.
Broken Tradition, Broken Trust
Historically, Ghanaian governments — across political lines — have either maintained or increased cocoa producer prices, even during difficult global market conditions, to protect farmer incomes, stabilize rural economies, and discourage smuggling.
Farmers say the current mid-season cut breaks that long-standing tradition.
Rising Risk of Smuggling And Crop Abandonment
The fallout is already reshaping farmer behavior. Across border communities, farmers are openly discussing smuggling beans into Côte d’Ivoire, where producer prices, though also reduced, remain higher than the new rate.
Others are considering abandoning cocoa entirely, shifting to food crops like maize and plantain, or moving into cashew farming — a trend that threatens the long-term cocoa production base and export stability.
NDC Blame Game
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) attributes the crisis in the cocoa sector to alleged financial mismanagement under the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.
Speaking during a “Thank You” tour in the Upper Denkyira West Constituency of the Central Region, NDC National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, claimed that the former government left a “mess” in the sector that contributed to the government’s decision to cut prices.
According to Asiedu Nketiah, the NPP government had secured a loan to purchase 800,000 tonnes of cocoa for the 2023/2024 crop season but bought only slightly over 400,000 tonnes while utilizing the full loan amount.
“When it was time to repay the banks, the government didn’t have the required quantity of cocoa and had to request a rescheduling of the loan to 2025,” he said.
The NDC chairman also alleged that the NPP had raised additional funds from domestic banks using cocoa bonds but failed to meet repayment obligations.
“They used the same cocoa bond to collect lots of money from domestic banks. As a result of the haircut, the same government later admitted it could not pay the banks. So, when we took over, our audit revealed this was the mess left behind,” Asiedu Nketiah stated.
He further criticized past practices that allegedly inflated costs, including the importation of large quantities of jute sacks for cocoa packaging, which he claimed were used as a medium for financial gain by political cronies.
According to him, many sacks remain at the ports, enough to last the country a decade without further imports.
Fiifi Boafo: Cocoa Price Cut An Act Of Cruelty
The price reduction, approved by the Producer Price Review Committee (PPRC) and effective from February 12, 2026, set the cocoa producer price at GH¢41,392 per tonne, equivalent to GH¢2,587 per bag.
Former Head of Public Affairs at COCOBOD, Fiifi Boafo, has criticized the government’s approach, describing the reduction as “an act of cruelty against cocoa farmers.”
Speaking on Big Issue on Channel One TV, Boafo argued that the engagement around the price cut has been poorly handled, with farmers being “taken for granted” and disrespected.
“The reduction is out of cruelty against the cocoa farmers,” he said, adding that government and COCOBOD officials failed to consider the implications of the price cut on the livelihoods of farmers.
Meanwhile, the global cocoa prices began to fall shortly after the announcement, creating a disconnect between the fixed domestic producer price and the declining world market prices.
Licensed buyers soon found it difficult to purchase cocoa at the official price, some deliveries went unpaid, and market activity slowed significantly.
The government subsequently reduced the producer price by about 29%, sparking fears that farmers would be incentivized to smuggle cocoa beans to Côte d’Ivoire, where the official producer price remains higher.
On paper, the concern seemed plausible: the revised price was now roughly 27% lower than the Ivorian official rate.