The Member of Parliament for Manso Adubia and member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Food and Agriculture, Hon. Yaw Frimpong Addo, has reiterated his call for President John Dramani Mahama to heed growing concerns surrounding the Cocoa Board Bill, 2026.
He is urging the President to withhold assent to the bill and return it to Parliament to allow for broader stakeholder engagement.
Speaking in an interview on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM’s Nyankonton Mu Nsem, Hon. Addo expressed deep concern that the legislation was rushed through Parliament without adequate consultation with cocoa farmers, landowners, and key industry players.
The bill, which seeks to repeal the Ghana Cocoa Board Law, 1984 (PNDC Law 81), introduces fundamental changes to the governance and regulation of the cocoa sector. Hon. Addo highlighted that the bill was laid before Parliament on July 28 and passed within the same week, leaving virtually no room for meaningful parliamentary or public scrutiny.
He argued that any legislation carrying such profound implications for the industry must involve thorough engagement with those directly affected before it is enacted.
“For a law that will restrict the destruction or uprooting of cocoa trees without prior authorization, the government needed to have consulted widely, especially with cocoa farmers. They are now going round the country engaging farmers and other stakeholders after they rushed the bill and passed it,” he remarked.
“The bill in its current state has the potential to limit farmers’ ability to manage their farms, particularly when dealing with diseased, unproductive, or old cocoa trees. The Minority Caucus is not against reforms, but there should have been consensus-building in the way the bill was formulated, discussed, and passed in Parliament,” he added.
Hon. Addo described the requirement for farmers to seek prior approval from the Ghana Cocoa Board before removing unproductive or unsuitable trees as entirely impractical.
“Our concern is that we don’t build an industry like that. Any legislation that affects the rights and operations of cocoa farmers must be subjected to extensive consultation before it becomes law. We have also observed that the implications of the proposed legislation could extend beyond current farmers and have the consequence of discouraging young people from pursuing cocoa farming,” he stated.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
