Ghana’s cocoa farmers are calling for urgent action to stop the destruction of cocoa farms even as the country has enacted a new law designed to give cocoa-growing land stronger legal protection. The development highlights a new challenge for Ghana’s cocoa sector: moving from legislation on paper to effective enforcement on the ground.
The Concerned Cocoa Farmers Association of Ghana renewed its appeal on September 14, asking the government, Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and security agencies to intervene against the continued destruction of cocoa farms. The association said the losses were threatening farmers’ livelihoods and Ghana’s wider national interests, while urging farmers to remain law-abiding and report destruction through lawful channels.
The appeal comes against a backdrop of competing pressures on cocoa-growing land, particularly illegal mining, or galamsey. A COCOBOD regional official warned in July that more than 100,000 acres of high-yield cocoa plantations had been destroyed in parts of the Ashanti, Western and Central regions. The official said illegal mining was undermining rehabilitation efforts, with some farms being destroyed after receiving significant investment to restore their productivity.
The stakes are high because Ghana’s cocoa sector supports about 800,000 farm families, according to a USDA Foreign Agricultural Service assessment covering 10 of the country’s 16 regions. Cocoa beans and cocoa products generated more than $3.37 billion in export earnings between October 2024 and June 2025, underlining the sector’s importance to both rural incomes and the national economy.
Production is also facing pressure from multiple fronts. COCOBOD has warned about the effects of weather conditions, disease, ageing farms and illegal mining on future output. This makes protecting existing productive farmland important as Ghana seeks to restore productivity and rebuild confidence across the cocoa value chain.
The government has now moved beyond proposals to establish a legal framework for that protection. Parliament passed the Ghana Cocoa Board Bill, 2026, on July 30, and President John Dramani Mahama assented to it on August 26, bringing the Ghana Cocoa Board Act, 2026 into law. The Act incorporates broader reforms to the cocoa sector, including provisions aimed at protecting cocoa farmland.
Among the protections in the legislation are restrictions on converting protected cocoa farms to other uses without COCOBOD authorisation and controls on the destruction of cocoa trees outside approved rehabilitation programmes. The legislation also prohibits mining, sand winning and other environmentally harmful extractive activities on protected cocoa farms or within 500 metres of them. Violations can attract fines, restoration orders and imprisonment.
The legislation, however, has not eliminated concerns among farmers. Before presidential assent, the Ghana Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Association supported the objective of protecting cocoa farms but called for wider consultation and clearer public education. Some farmers were concerned about situations in which ageing or economically unproductive cocoa farms might need to be converted to other crops to maintain household incomes.
COCOBOD has subsequently begun stakeholder education on the new law, including engagements with farmers in cocoa-growing communities. At an August farmers’ rally, officials explained provisions of the legislation and allowed farmers to raise questions about its implications for their livelihoods and the future of cocoa production.
The September appeal by farmers therefore presents an important test of the new framework. While the law provides stronger legal protection, farmers continue to report destruction and are asking authorities to translate the legislation into visible action. For Ghana’s cocoa industry, enforcement will be particularly important in areas where illegal mining and competing land uses remain active.
NBF Insight
Ghana has moved an important step by putting cocoa-farm protection into law. The next challenge is implementation.
A mature cocoa farm represents years of investment in trees, labour, inputs and land. Destroying it can remove productive capacity for years, even if another farm is planted elsewhere. That makes protecting existing farms an important part of rebuilding Ghana’s cocoa output.
But effective protection will require more than criminal penalties. Ghana will need consistent enforcement against illegal mining, clear procedures for legitimate land-use changes, farmer education, transparent dispute resolution, and continued investment in farm rehabilitation.
The bigger lesson is that agricultural land protection is becoming part of food and export security. Ghana’s cocoa sector cannot sustainably raise production if the land on which that production depends remains vulnerable to competing uses.
The new Act provides the legal framework. Its ultimate impact will depend on what happens after the law reaches the farm gate.
