The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Randy Abbey, has pushed back strongly against calls by the Minority in Parliament and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for his removal, insisting that the real crisis in Ghana’s cocoa sector predates his tenure.
Speaking to Sena Numbo on Gold Morning Conversation on Radio Gold, Dr. Abbey rejected suggestions that he had failed in his role, describing the criticism as ironic.
“Isn’t it ironic that the people who created all this mess are the ones shouting as if they are friends of the farmer?” he asked.
His comments come at a time when Ghana’s cocoa industry, long regarded as the backbone of the agricultural economy and a key foreign exchange earner is grappling with declining production, swollen shoot disease devastation, financing constraints, and lingering questions over past rehabilitation programmes.
At the heart of Dr. Abbey’s response is what he describes as a failed rehabilitation effort under the previous administration.
He revealed that nearly 40 percent of Ghana’s productive cocoa farmland has been ravaged by Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD), a long-standing threat that significantly reduces yields and destroys farms.
To address the crisis, COCOBOD secured a $350 million facility from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to rehabilitate 156,000 hectares of diseased farms. In addition, COCOBOD reportedly spent another GH¢700 million from its own coffers to support the programme.
However, Dr. Abbey disclosed that only 40,000 hectares were fully rehabilitated and handed over, with approximately 28,000 hectares partially completed, far below the original target.
“The entire AfDB loan is gone. Another GH¢700 million from COCOBOD’s coffers is gone. And we pay the AfDB loan in two tranches of $61 million every year,” he said.
He further revealed that an irrigation component valued at $40 million under the facility was later reallocated into the rehabilitation component, yet output still fell significantly short of expectations.
The cocoa rehabilitation programme was originally designed as a cornerstone strategy to restore productivity and secure long-term farmer incomes. Its underperformance has become a central point of controversy in the current debate over the sector’s management.
Dr. Abbey confirmed that investigative processes are underway. He disclosed that Cabinet has directed the Attorney General to conduct concurrent forensic audits and pursue possible criminal prosecutions where necessary.
According to him, several agencies had already initiated investigations even before Cabinet’s directive. The National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) is reportedly examining issues related to agrochemical containers, while EOCO and the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) have also requested documentation.
“My minister is fully aware of everything,” Dr. Abbey said, suggesting that the appointing authority has been briefed comprehensively on the situation at COCOBOD.
Beyond the technical and financial details, Dr. Abbey described the attacks against him as personal and politically motivated.
“I will continue to speak about the issues. They can decide to focus on me,” he said, adding that “I’m really not bothered.”
Ghana’s cocoa sector remains deeply political. As the world’s second-largest cocoa producer after Côte d’Ivoire, the industry supports over 800,000 farm families and contributes significantly to export earnings. Decisions affecting producer prices, farm rehabilitation, and sector financing carry national economic consequences.
Recent years have seen volatility in global cocoa prices, syndicated loan challenges, and debates over forward sales and rollover policies, issues that have fuelled tensions between political actors over who bears responsibility for the sector’s difficulties.
Dr. Abbey’s comments suggest that he intends to frame the debate around structural and historical challenges rather than short-term administrative decisions.
The cocoa industry faces multiple headwinds: climate change impacts, aging farms, illegal mining encroachment on cocoa lands, swollen shoot disease spread, and farmer dissatisfaction over income levels.
The rehabilitation programme’s shortcomings, if fully substantiated through audit could explain part of the sector’s productivity decline.
For now, the political exchanges are unlikely to subside. But the deeper question remains whether ongoing audits and investigations will provide clarity on how nearly half of Ghana’s cocoa lands became compromised, and whether corrective measures will restore farmer confidence.
As Dr. Abbey put it during the interview, “The most important thing is that the appointor knows the issues better.”
The coming months and the outcome of forensic audits may determine whether Ghana’s cocoa crisis becomes a turning point for reform or another chapter in the sector’s long political history.
