Speaking at the official opening of the Ghana Tree Crops Investment Summit 2026, President Mahama drew on his personal experience as a cocoa farmer to highlight the real-world impact of policy decisions on producers.
“I want to thank Nana Kwebu Ewusi VII, who gave me 50 acres of land on which I planted cocoa. So, I am a cocoa farmer myself; when the price is reduced, it affects me too,” he said. “We must empathise with farmers so that policy decisions consider their well-being.”
The President noted that the recent volatility in global cocoa prices has created uncertainties for producers across the world, underscoring the need for Ghana to move beyond raw exports and focus on value addition.
“Ghana has long been the world’s leading exporter of raw cocoa beans, from the days of Governor Guggisberg to the present,” he said. “That is not an accolade we should continue to take pride in. Our goal must be to become a leading exporter of manufactured cocoa products.”
President Mahama urged tree crop producers and exporters to seize this moment to modernize practices and enhance domestic processing. The Summit, supported by the Ghana Tree Crops Development Authority, seeks to attract investment in cocoa, cashew, coconut, oil palm, rubber, and other tree crops as part of a broader strategy to diversify the agricultural economy.
He also stressed the importance of leadership setting an example, calling on public servants, ministers, MPs, CEOs of state-owned enterprises, and traditional authorities to actively engage in farming. “We cannot always advise others to go back to the land if we ourselves do not lead by example,” he said, highlighting successful models in neighboring Côte d’Ivoire.
The President further identified access to land as a key challenge in tree crop development and encouraged traditional leaders to support initiatives promoting large-scale cultivation.
President Mahama concluded by urging Ghanaians to take agriculture seriously, emphasizing that leadership and personal involvement in farming would drive national growth and value creation in the cocoa sector.
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