2026 SONA: Mahama Reiterates Commitment to Transform Ghana's Cocoa Sector

• President John Dramani Mahama has reaffirmed his commitment to reforming Ghana’s cocoa sector to ensure fair and competitive prices for farmers
• He defended the recent producer price cuts, describing the decision as painful but necessary to address liquidity challenges
• The President made these remarks while delivering the 2026 State of the Nation Address in Parliament on Friday, February 27, 2026

President John Dramani Mahama has reiterated his commitment to transforming Ghana's cocoa sector.

He said his administration would introduce reforms to transform the cocoa sector and guarantee fair prices for farmers in the country.

He said that in recent weeks, his administration had to take the painful but necessary decision to revise the producer price of cocoa to achieve competitive pricing and address acute liquidity challenges in the sector.

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President Mahama said he acknowledges the concerns and protests of farmers regarding the producer price cuts.

"So while fully understanding the concerns and protests of our farmers, I can firmly assure them that the reforms announced by the government will see a total transformation of the sector and guarantee them a fair price that enables them to meet the cost of producing the commodity and make decent margins," he said.

The President made these remarks while delivering the 2026 State of the Nation Address at the Parliament of Ghana on Friday, February 27, 2026.

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He also warned that failure to take this tough decision would have led to pumping billions of borrowed funds into the sector, undoing the progress made in overcoming the economic problems.

"Failure to do so would have meant pumping in billions of borrowed funds. This unplanned expenditure would have taken us right back to the very devastating economic problems we have only recently begun to escape," he explained.

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Mahama says Ghana must learn from mistakes

He further stated that a nation that fails to learn from past mistakes would be unable to break free from the cycle of problems that impose hardship on its citizens.

According to him, the country has recovered from a devastating economic crisis, which was caused by financial indiscipline, huge deficits, and massive debt resulting from unbudgeted expenditure by the previous administration.

"Mr Speaker, a nation that does not learn from past mistakes cannot get out of the cycle of problems that impose hardship on its citizens'

"We have just begun to emerge from the most devastating economic crisis in our nation's recent history. This crisis was triggered by general financial indiscipline, huge deficits and massive debt occasioned by persistent unbudgeted expenditure to meet the ends of convenient politicking."

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Mahama declares Ghana open for business

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported that President John Mahama declared Ghana's economic gains in his 2026 State of the Nation Address in Parliament

The president noted as an example that Ghana's GDP is projected to reach $133 billion, marking an 86% increase.

The current administration inherited a country which was constrained by an IMF programme after it defaulted on its debts.

Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh