COCOBOD Has Paid $74.5m to Agrochemical Suppliers Since January 2026 – Finance Minister

The Deputy Minister for Finance, Hon Thomas Ampem Nyarko has disclosed that the Ghana Cocoa Board has paid $74.5 million to agrochemical and fertilizer suppliers between January 2026 and now, as part of efforts to clear arrears from the Cocoa Mass Spraying and Hi-Tech programs.

Answering further questions in Parliament, the Deputy Minister said COCOBOD is “approaching the issue systematically” to restore its financial capacity and honor obligations to all creditors, including agrochemical dealers, in a “sustainable and transparent manner.”

He told the House that government has adopted a number of reforms and policy measures to restore COCOBOD’s financial health and build a sustainable financing model.

“Government is fixing the system so that suppliers are paid not once but always. Predictably, transparently, and on time,” the Minister stated.

The payment update follows his earlier disclosure that COCOBOD contracted $668.6 million in agrochemicals for the 2023/2024 season against a budget of $76.5 million, contributing to supplier arrears between 2021 and 2024.

He described the current supplier debt as part of “a much larger financial challenge inherited in the cocoa sector” which the new administration is working to resolve.

The Cocoa Mass Spraying and Hi-Tech programs provide subsidized inputs to cocoa farmers to boost yields and control pests and diseases. Delayed payments have previously raised concerns about input supply disruptions.