The Executive Management and Senior Staff of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) have voluntarily reduced their salaries effective Monday, February 16, 2026, as part of measures to address persistent liquidity challenges within the cocoa sector.
Under the new arrangement, Executive Management will take a 20 percent salary cut, while Senior Staff will accept a 10 percent reduction for the rest of the 2025/26 crop season. In a statement, the Board explained that the pay cuts—together with additional cost-saving steps in procurement and an ongoing staff rationalisation exercise—are intended to lower overall expenditure and better align operational costs with revenue.
The decision comes amid significant changes in the cocoa industry. Ghana recently reduced the cocoa farmgate price by 28 percent, marking the first such cut since at least 2020. The move follows declining global cocoa prices and growing arrears owed to farmers.
As part of broader reforms in the sector, Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson assured that outstanding payments due to cocoa farmers would be settled.
Meanwhile, COCOBOD’s Chief Executive Officer, Randy Abbey, has acknowledged severe market disruptions. Addressing the media at Cocoa House in Accra on February 6, 2026, he described the current cocoa season as particularly challenging for both farmers and the Board.
Mr. Abbey revealed that although more than 530,000 tonnes of cocoa have been sold this season, approximately 50,000 tonnes remain with farmers without buyers. He attributed the backlog directly to Ghana’s uncompetitive farmgate pricing, noting that the situation has created significant strain across the cocoa value chain.
