Ghana’s parliament passed a bill that could send cocoa farmers to prison for up to 20 years if they convert their farms to other uses without government approval, according to a new bill.
The new measure was passed on Thursday, but the contents of the law were not made public until late Sunday. President John Mahama has not yet signed the law.
The legislation would give all cocoa farms protected status, making it a criminal offence to repurpose them for anything else without authorisation, drawing criticism from farmers.
The penalties also targeted illegal gold mining, with a prison sentence of between 10 and 20 years and a heavy fine for each affected cocoa tree.
Export commodity
Hundreds of thousands of farmers in West Africa rely on cocoa farming for a living. In the neighbouring Ivory Coast, cocoa bean exports make up 40% of the total export revenue. In Ghana, they make up nearly 15%.
Government regulators set a fixed price for the cocoa bean at the beginning of every planting season, and the majority of the beans are sold through government-licensed parties to protect farmers from price fluctuations on the international market.
However, after a surge in cocoa futures in 2024 on international markets that reached more than $12,000 per metric tonne, the highest in decades. The price crashed to around $4,000 as supply outstripped demand.
