The Majority Caucus in Parliament has rejected calls for a bailout for cocoa farmers, attributing the current crisis in Ghana’s cocoa sector to reckless borrowing under the former Nana Akufo-Addo administration.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, February 19, 2026, Chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Isaac Adongo, accused the previous government of leaving the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) in deep financial distress, warning that additional debt-driven interventions could jeopardise the sector’s long-term viability.
This is in response to the Minority’s call for a bailout for cocoa farmers, urging government to cushion farmers against falling international cocoa prices rather than implementing a sharp 28 per cent cut in the producer price. The Minority has proposed that the government release emergency liquidity support to COCOBOD, enabling the country’s nearly one million cocoa farmers to be paid promptly instead of seeing the price of cocoa fall by over GH¢1,000 per bag.
The Bolga Central lawmaker argued that Ghana’s current debt burden makes it impossible to secure additional funds from international capital markets to fund a bailout for cocoa farmers.
“Loans alone were GHC17.8 billion at the beginning of 2025. And if you add this to other obligations, you will realise that at this point, COCOBOD was bleeding with an exposure of over GHC60 billion. Certainly, that vehicle could not be sustainable and needed to be addressed.
“These are the people who read the Bible in reverse. And these are the people advising us to add debts when we cannot even pay GHC60 billion. They think this illogical argument they are advancing will save the people of Ghana. We’re resetting the cocoa sector,” he added.
The Majority caucus stressed that restoring financial discipline and restructuring the cocoa sector is a far more sustainable solution than relying on short-term, debt-fuelled handouts.
Adongo emphasised the need for systemic reforms that strengthen COCOBOD’s financial footing while safeguarding farmers’ livelihoods.
The government has outlined a series of measures to revitalise the cocoa sector, including financial reforms, debt restructuring, and targeted support for farmers, signalling a move away from quick-fix interventions towards long-term sustainability in Ghana’s flagship agricultural industry.
