get latest news from West Africa

Dr Ato Forson – Minister of Finance.
The Ghana government has unveiled a new domestic bond financing scheme to replace the syndicated loan and buyer-financed arrangements for cocoa purchases.
This is to address liquidity challenges and ensure stability, viability and sustainability in the sector.
Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, the Minister of Finance, announced the “Cocoa Bond” financing model at a press briefing on Thursday.
He explained that funds raised would serve as a revolving fund to enable the purchase of cocoa directly from farmers.
Under the revolving fund arrangement, the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) would raise money from the domestic market, utilise them to purchase cocoa, and repay the bonds from cocoa proceeds within each crop year.
“The new financing model will utilise domestic cocoa bonds to purchase cocoa and repay from cocoa proceeds within each crop year,” Dr Forson said.
He added that the model would also help revive indigenous licensed buying companies.
The announcement follows recent challenges in the sector, including the collapse of COCOBOD’s 32-year-old traditional syndicated loan model during the 2024–2025 season, which led to the adoption of a buyer-financed arrangement and its attendant difficulties.
Under the buyer-financing model, COCOBOD became heavily dependent on buyers’ willingness to pre-finance cocoa purchases.
This left the organisation vulnerable when world market prices dropped from an average of $7,200 per tonne to $4,100 per tonne.
The situation worsened after COCOBOD projected an output of 800,000 tonnes for the 2023 -2024 crop season but produced only 432,145 tonnes – a 45 per cent shortfall.
This resulted in the rollover of 333,767 tonnes of contracts and losses exceeding $1 billion.
The crisis left COCOBOD unable to pay some cocoa farmers, who, through the Ghana National Cocoa Farmers Association, have in recent days called on the Government to release funds to clear outstanding arrears.
Addressing the press, Dr Forson said the new scheme would enable the State-owned institution, which oversaw the production, marketing and processing of cocoa, to sell the beans directly to local processors, boost value addition and create jobs.
“The bonds will be issued as domestic bonds, called Cocoa Bonds, largely to finance cocoa purchases… They will sit on the balance sheet of the Ghana Cocoa Board,” he stated.
The Finance Minister gave the assurance that concerns regarding COCOBOD’s balance sheet were being addressed, noting that measures had already been taken to strengthen its financial position.
“Beyond that, COCOBOD will be in a better place to enter the domestic market,” he added.
He indicated that the Government would be deliberate in revamping the State-owned Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) to spearhead domestic processing.
This follows Cabinet’s directive that from the 2026–2027 season, 50 per cent of Ghana’s cocoa beans should be processed locally.
Mr Samuel Adimado, the President of the Licensed Cocoa Buyers Association of Ghana (LICOBAG), described the initiative as a positive step.
“There is a saying that you cannot do the same thing and expect a different result. This is an opportunity to try a new approach for better results,” he told the Ghana News Agency.
He noted that although the scheme provided a broad framework, it presented significant opportunities to address longstanding industry challenges.
Mr Adimado appealed to farmers to embrace the new financing model, remain patient and seek clarification where necessary.
He urged the government to ensure the inclusion of farmer leadership and other stakeholders in the implementation process.
On processing capacity, he said a review of local processors showed that major industry players had established processing plants in Ghana with sufficient capacity to handle the proposed 50 per cent local processing target.
“This reform presents an opportunity for them to fully utilise their investments by processing cocoa locally,” he added.
Source: GNA