COCOBOD To Save Interest Payments By More Than $150 Million

The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is working on a number of important projects in 2025 to boost the country’s cocoa sector.

Launched in November 2024, the company’s Tree Crop Diversification Project (TCDP) aims to strengthen environmental resilience and economic growth by concentrating on four key tree crops: cashew, coconut, rubber, and cocoa.

The project, which is overseen by the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA), aims to boost sustainable practices, reinforce value chains, and increase farmer productivity. The TCDP, which prioritizes the inclusion of women and the youth, aims to help more than 52,000 farmers and generate many jobs over its six-year duration.

Additionally, COCOBOD is putting its Cocoa Management System (CMS) into operation in Asamankese, Adabokrom, and Essam, three important cocoa-producing districts.

The purpose of this digital platform is to track cocoa produce from the farm gate to export, enhance data management, and streamline operations. The CMS seeks to guarantee sustainability, efficiency, and transparency throughout the cocoa value chain by improving traceability.

In districts like Assin Fosu, New Edubiase, Nkawkaw, and Juaso, COCOBOD is renovating old cocoa farms with a $100 million financing facility obtained from the World Bank.

Over the course of the four-year project, overgrown cocoa trees will be removed, lands will be prepared, and farmers will receive new seedlings and plantain suckers. By revitalizing underperforming farms, this program seeks to raise cocoa yields and enhance farmers’ standard of living.

Ghana National Petroleum Corporation To Complete These Projects

In a dramatic change, COCOBOD has decided not to raise a syndicated loan for the 2024/25 cocoa season, a practice it had followed since 1992. Instead, it is introducing a new funding model that requires global traders to pre-finance bean purchases by depositing at least 60% of the value of their forward contracts at the start of the season. This approach is expected to save COCOBOD over $150 million in interest payments and reduce reliance on external financing.

These initiatives reflect COCOBOD’s commitment to modernizing Ghana’s cocoa industry, ensuring its sustainability, and enhancing the welfare of cocoa farmers.