NPP to Mahama: Hold Off on COCOBOD Bill, Go Back for More Consultation

The New Patriotic Party is urging President John Dramani Mahama not to sign the Ghana Cocoa Board Bill, 2026 into law. Instead, the party wants the Bill sent back to Parliament for wider engagement with stakeholders.

Speaking at a press conference at the NPP headquarters on *Sunday, August 9*, Ranking Member on Parliament’s Agriculture Committee and Co-Chair of the NPP Agriculture Policy Committee, *Dr. Isaac Yaw Opoku*, said the Bill was rushed.

According to him, the legislation was laid before Parliament on *July 28* and passed within the same week, with little input from cocoa farmers, landowners and other key players in the sector.

Dr. Opoku noted that the Bill seeks to repeal the Ghana Cocoa Board Law, 1984 (PNDC Law 81) and introduces major changes, including a new tribunal, new governance structures, and fresh offences. He said such provisions deserve proper scrutiny and stakeholder input before becoming law.

“*We urge His Excellency the President to withhold his assent to the Ghana Cocoa Board Bill, 2026, and return the same to Parliament for broader stakeholder consultation*,” he stated.

The NPP also raised concerns about a clause that bars farmers from destroying or uprooting cocoa trees without prior approval from COCOBOD. Dr. Opoku argued that this could tie the hands of farmers who need to remove old, diseased or unproductive trees as part of normal farm management. He questioned why farmers should need permission to deal with trees on their own farms, warning that the rule could lead to sanctions for routine activities.

He stressed that any law affecting cocoa farmers must go through extensive consultation, because the impact will go beyond today’s farmers and shape the future of the industry.

The NPP is therefore calling on President Mahama to return the Bill to Parliament to allow for further review and engagement with farmers, landowners and other stakeholders in the cocoa value chain.