Story by Apiah-Kubi – Fabea FM, Nkoranza
The Bia West Constituency Communication Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who is also the Western North Regional Manager of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Isaiah Kwarteng, has defended the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) Bill, 2026, saying the legislation is designed to protect cocoa farmers and strengthen financial discipline in the sector.
Speaking on Winners FM’s *Omanba Pa* programme, hosted by Odehyieba Ampong and monitored by Apiah-Kubi, Mr Kwarteng said some provisions of the Bill had been misunderstood, particularly those relating to cocoa farms and farming practices.
He explained that the legislation required farmers to obtain approval from COCOBOD before undertaking major changes to their cocoa farms, stressing that the provision was intended to safeguard cocoa farms from being converted to other uses.
According to him, cocoa farms had been designated as protected areas under the new law, meaning that cocoa trees could not be destroyed, uprooted or felled for other purposes without the requisite authorisation, except in cases of rehabilitation sanctioned by COCOBOD.
“The new law seeks to protect the status of cocoa farms and ensure that cocoa production is not undermined through the indiscriminate conversion of farms to other uses,” he said.
Mr Kwarteng said the Bill would also improve the welfare and economic prospects of cocoa farmers through measures including the introduction of a cocoa pension scheme, a cocoa education trust fund and the establishment of a cocoa debt sinking fund.
He further assured farmers that the 70 per cent Free-On-Board (FOB) price guarantee would remain protected under the law, ensuring that farmers received not less than 70 per cent of the gross FOB export price.
He said the reforms were intended not only to safeguard cocoa production but also to promote greater financial sustainability and improve the welfare of farmers.
Mr Kwarteng therefore urged cocoa farmers and the public to study the provisions of the new legislation rather than relying on what he described as misconceptions about its implications.
He maintained that the COCOBOD Bill, 2026, represented a significant reform aimed at protecting cocoa farms, strengthening the cocoa industry and ensuring that farmers derived greater economic benefits from their contribution to the sector.
