Former Member of Parliament for Sefwi Wiawso, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, has called on the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) to apologise to cocoa farmers, accusing the party of using cocoa pricing as a political tool during the 2024 election campaign and abandoning farmers after securing power.
Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Dr. Afriyie, who is also a cocoa farmer, said the promises made to farmers were unsustainable and politically motivated.
“They should come clean and apologise to the cocoa farmers for deceiving us,” he said. “This should be led by Eric Opoku and Samson Ahi who pushed that cocoa price agenda. They knew it was political posturing, and they have benefited from it.”
Dr. Afriyie explained that the high cocoa prices promised during the campaign helped deliver electoral victory for the NDC but are now causing difficulties for the very farmers who were meant to benefit.
“They won the election because of the cocoa price. That was the political dividend. But here we are,” he said. “We must give the government the leverage and call for dialogue because, honestly, if they try to pay the price as promised, they will be at a loss.”
Ahead of the 2024 elections, cocoa pricing was a central campaign issue. The NDC pledged to increase producer prices to GHC 6,000 per 64kg bag, making farmer welfare a key message across the Western, Ashanti, Eastern, and Ahafo cocoa belts.
Dr. Afriyie warned that post-election realities now clash with campaign rhetoric.
“They have already won power. The equilibrium will only come when cocoa is actually sold,” he said. “In the real world, the farmers are suffering.”
Despite the challenges, he emphasised that cocoa remains one of Ghana’s most equitable and reliable tree crops.
“Cocoa remains the most democratic crop,” he noted. “Caretakers get one-third every year while the allodial owner gets two-thirds. Even with all the problems, cocoa is still a lucrative tree crop.”
Dr. Afriyie concluded that decisions on cocoa pricing must prioritise sustainability over politics.
“We need dialogue, not politics,” he said. “If government pays what it cannot sustain, everyone loses, including the farmers they claim to protect.”
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