He emphasised the need for farmer-centered policies in Ghana’s cocoa sector, citing his personal experience as a cocoa farmer to illustrate the significant impact of government pricing decisions.
President Mahama in his remarks at the official opening of the Ghana Tree Crops Investment Summit 2026, said “I want to thank Nana Kwebu Ewusi VII, who gave me 50 acres of land, on which I planted cocoa, so I’m a cocoa farmer, so when the price is reduced by the government, it affects me too.”
“I want to be able to empathise with farmers so that when we take any policy decision, we know that it has an effect on farmers and we feel it ourselves,” he said.
He spoke about the recent developments in the cocoa sector which included sharp flactuations in global prices, creating uncertainties for producers and policymakers like, explaining that the crisis had not affected only Ghana but all cocoa-producing countries, showing how unstable raw material exports were, if one failed to process and add value to their produce.
The President urged producers and exporters to take advantage of this crisis to make pivotal changes in how they handled their raw exports.
He noted that Ghana had been exporting raw beans since the time of Governor Guggisberg, when it was the leading exporter of cocoa and even presently where the country was still considered as the largest leading exporter of raw cocoa beans.
“That is not an accolade we should continue to take pride in,” President Mahama said.
He said Ghana should rather take pride in becoming the leading exporter of manufactured cocoa products, hence the crisis must mark a turning point in its cocoa industry.
The Summit, organised with support from the Ghana Tree Crops Authority, aims to attract investment into key tree crop including cocoa, cashew, coconut, oil palm and rubber, as part of efforts to diversify the country’s agricultural economy and enhance value addition.
President Mahama said agriculture was one of the most important contributors to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP); and that it was a business that had long been looked down upon.
He said one of the major hindrances to tree crop development was access to land; stating that traditional rulers especially should take an interest in this initiative of promoting tree crops.
“So in whatever geographical area of the country you are, if it’s in the north, a Shea nuts plantation. If it’s in the Brong Ahafo area, Cashew. If you’re in the Western Region, rubber, or cocoa. And if you’re in Dodowa area and other places, Mango,” he said.
The President said Ghanaians must take interest in the agricultural sector and especially in tree crops.
The President said he was endorsing a suggestion by Dr Andy Osei Okrah, the Chief Executive Officers of the Tree Crops Development Authority that public servants, Ministers, MPs and Chief Executive Officers of State-owned enterprises must have farms.
“When I’m going to do a reshuffle, the mitigating factor will be that you must have a farm. So public servants, ministers, priests, clergymen, traditional rulers, everybody, you know, try and do some agriculture. Just like in Cote d’Ivoire, almost every public servant, has a farm,” the President said.
He encouraged Ghanaians especially the leadership, to take agriculture seriously, walk the talk, lead by example, saying “We cannot just always talk and say people should go back to their land, when you yourself are not going back to the land.”
GNA
