Ghana parliament backs tough cocoa farm protections, with up to 20 years in prison

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ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Ghana's parliament passed a bill that could send cocoa farmers to prison for up to 20 years if they convert their farms to other uses without government approval, according to a copy of the bill seen by The Associated Press.

The new measure was passed on Thursday, but the contents of the law were not made public until late Sunday. President John Mahama has not yet signed the law.

The legislation would give all cocoa farms protected status, making it a criminal offense to repurpose them for anything else without authorization, drawing criticism from farmers.

“If the law stands as it is now, it’s not fair,” said Moses Djan Asiedu, administrator of the Ghana Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Association Limited and a cocoa farmer.

Many farmers invest their own money to acquire land, clear it and maintain cocoa farms for years before earning any income, yet receive little government support, said Asiedu.

“If cocoa is a national asset, then the farmer should also be supported to cover some of the cost of production,” he said.

The toughest penalties target illegal gold mining, with a prison sentence of between 10 and 20 years, and a heavy fine for each affected cocoa tree.

Hundreds of thousands of farmers in West Africa rely on cocoa farming for a living. In neighboring Ivory Coast, cocoa bean exports make up 40% of the total export revenue. In Ghana, they make up nearly 15%.

Government regulators set a fixed price for the cocoa bean at the beginning of every planting season, and the majority of the beans are sold through government-licensed parties to protect farmers from price fluctuations on the international market.

However, after a surge in cocoa futures in 2024 on international markets, the futures — a contract to buy a commodity at an agreed-upon price on a future date — reached more than $12,000 per metric ton, the highest in decades. Then it crashed to around $4,000 as supply outstripped demand.