Parliament has passed the Ghana Cocoa Board Bill, 2026, to provide a comprehensive reform for the cocoa sector governance framework and to establish a sustainable funding model for the sector.
The Bill seeks to establish the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to regulate, oversee and monitor activities across the cocoa value chain.
It will support cocoa cultivation, undertake the buying, selling, and export of cocoa and promote value addition.
Passed under a certificate of urgency, the Bill also aims to modernise the legal framework governing the cocoa industry by strengthening institutional governance, enhancing regulatory oversight, improving financial accountability, and promoting sustainability and traceability.
It also introduces a new arrangement to ensure that cocoa beans are available for local processing companies, with at least 50 per cent of Ghana's cocoa production to be processed locally to add value.
The Bill was introduced in Parliament on Thursday, July 23, 2026, by the Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, and was subsequently referred to the Finance Committee.
Presenting the explanatory memorandum during the second reading of the Bill, Mr Ampem said that for 32 years, the COCOBOD had relied on syndicated loans to finance cocoa purchases.
However, he said, following the economic challenges that led to Ghana's debt restructuring, COCOBOD could no longer access syndicated loans.
As a result, he said, the board had resorted to a buyer-led funding model, which had proved to be unsustainable.
"This Bill introduces a new funding model that will enable COCOBOD to source financing locally to purchase cocoa beans from our hardworking farmers," he said.
He explained that because COCOBOD had been using cocoa beans as collateral and entering into forward sale contracts, it had become difficult to make sufficient beans available for local processing companies.
He said the new arrangement would ensure that cocoa beans were available for local processors.
Mr Ampem further stated that following the government's policy to ensure that farmers received a minimum of 70 per cent of the free-on-board (FOB) price of cocoa, the Bill sought to enshrine that policy in law.
"We should legislate this so that it becomes binding and no one can decide tomorrow to reduce the farmers' share from 70 to 60 per cent.
"This is what some people are against. Some people do not want our farmers to be guaranteed a minimum of 70 per cent of the FOB price," he added.
Scholarship scheme
On the cocoa scholarship scheme, Mr Ampem said that while the programme would continue to support the children of cocoa farmers, it would also prioritise courses that contributed directly to the development of the cocoa sector.
Contributing to the debate, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Effia, Isaac Yaw Boamah, said the Minority Caucus was not fundamentally opposed to the government's efforts to review and replace the existing cocoa legislation.
He agreed that the sector had undergone significant transformation since the 1970s and 1980s, resulting in numerous amendments to the legal framework.
"When you have so many fragmented pieces of legislation, it is important to consolidate them to reflect contemporary realities, including the registration and licensing regimes," he said.
Mr Boamah, however, expressed concerns about the governance structure proposed for the COCOBOD.
He said he looked forward to seeing a COCOBOD that operated more independently and with less external interference.
