Ghana cocoa farmers urge president to withhold assent on land-use bill

Ghanaian cocoa farmers are urging President John Dramani Mahama to withhold his assent on a newly passed law that restricts how they can use their own land, saying they were not properly consulted before the legislation was approved.

The Ghana Cocoa Board Bill, 2026, passed by parliament in late July, grants cocoa farms "protected" status. It bars anyone, including farmers, from converting cocoa farms to other uses without approval from the market regulator, COCOBOD, except for board-sanctioned rehabilitation. Violators face fines and possible prison terms of up to 20 years.

The legislation is intended to curb the conversion of cocoa land for mining and other crops, a trend that has contributed to Ghana's declining cocoa output. Portions of cocoa farms nationwide have been cleared for rubber plantations and mining activities. Ghana and neighbouring Ivory Coast together produce half of the world's cocoa.

The Ghana Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Association Limited, an umbrella body for farmer cooperatives, says it supports measures to protect farms but wants several provisions reviewed and better explained to growers before the bill becomes law.

Moses Djan Asiedu, the association's administrator, said farmers are especially concerned about land that has become commercially unproductive, and whether replacing cocoa with other crops in such places could expose them to prosecution.

"We agree the tree must be protected because that is the source of our livelihood, but we have critical situations where a farmer may have to cut down a diseased farm and plant another crop that will bring him or her income," Asiedu said.

The farmers' concerns echo objections raised by minority lawmakers. COCOBOD has rejected the criticism, with head of public relations Jerome Sam telling local media that the minority's objections were politically motivated and that the bill was drafted to help farmers.

Mahama has not yet signed the bill, nor has he given a timeline for when he might do so.