The Busia Institute for Rural and Democratic Development (BIRDD) has expressed deep disappointment and concern over the government's decision not to increase the producer price of cocoa for the 2025-2026 crop season. 

This decision, the institute said, was a clear breach of a categorical promise made during the 2024 election campaign to double the producer price from GH¢3,100 per tonne.

The think tank urged the government to reconsider its stance and revise the cocoa producer price to reflect economic realities and restore confidence in democratic governance.

Public trust

A statement signed and issued by the Executive Director of the BIRDD, Anane Agyei, expressed concern that the decision undermined public trust in political leadership and weakened Ghana’s democracy.

“As a think tank committed to the advancement of democratic governance and rural development, the institute expresses grave concern that such a reversal undermines public trust in political leadership and weakens the very foundations of Ghana’s growing democracy,” it reiterated.

The institute argued that failing to honour promises made to the citizenry, especially those affecting vulnerable rural populations, breeds cynicism, apathy and disillusionment, eroding the moral credibility of political institutions.

Fair return

The Busia Institute stressed that cocoa farming communities are a significant pillar of the country’s rural economy and that denying them a fair return on their labour despite rising costs of living and inflationary pressures constitutes economic injustice and a democratic lapse.

The institute emphasised that upholding commitments made to the electorate is a sacred democratic obligation and that acting in ways that nurture, rather than weaken Ghana's democratic culture, is in the collective national interest.