Cocoa sector needs laws to shield farmers from political interference – Vanderpuye

The National Coordinator for the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP), Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has called for the introduction of legal protections to insulate Ghana’s cocoa sector from political decisions that could undermine farmers and the country’s economic interests.

Speaking on Breakfast Daily on Channel One TV on Thursday, February 12, he argued that the strategic importance of cocoa demands stronger safeguards beyond policy promises.

According to him, successive governments must be restricted from taking unilateral decisions that negatively affect cocoa farmers or disrupt Ghana’s position in global cocoa production.

He stressed that the sector’s stability should not hinge on changing political priorities, insisting that structured legal frameworks are needed to preserve the long-term interests of both farmers and the state.

“I seriously think that we must look at how we can even have some laws to protect the practice of the cocoa sector in a way that no government will be able to take certain decisions that will affect the interests of the cocoa farmer, and also affect Ghana’s interest in cocoa production.

“I do not know whether all of us as people will agree that the government should subsidise cocoa purchases. I wouldn’t agree that we should use taxpayers’ money to subsidise it while people sit at COCOBOD and live lavishly,”he said.

Mr Vanderpuye’s comments come as the cocoa sector faces mounting financial pressure, with farmers demanding payment of arrears owed over several months. The delayed payments have heightened anxiety within cocoa-growing communities, where livelihoods depend heavily on timely compensation for produce supplied.

Amid the growing tension, the Minister for Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, is expected to address the nation on planned reforms aimed at stabilising the cocoa sector.

His upcoming announcement follows an emergency Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, February 11, to deliberate on the deepening challenges confronting the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and the broader implications for the economy.