by King Amoah Kumasi
A significant outcry is echoing from the fertile grounds of the Ashanti Region and beyond as a broad spectrum of cocoa farmers have voiced their deep dissatisfaction with the performance of Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Randy Abbey.
The agitated farmers are now calling on President John Dramani Mahama to remove Mr. Abbey from his position as they alleged that his continued leadership is detrimental to the stability of the administration and most critically the well being of cocoa farmers.
These urgent demands emerged during discussions on a Kumasi based private radio station Rock FM’s morning show, Cocoa Affairs hosted by Obrempong on Monday February 9, 2026.
The phone in segment of the program provided a platform for numerous cocoa farmers to share their opinions on Mr. Abbey’s tenure.
The consensus among the callers, primarily seasoned cocoa farmers painted a bleak picture.
They described Mr. Abbey as the worst officer the Board had ever employed accusing him of actively contributing to the collapse of the cocoa industry.
The farmers grievances stems from Cocobod’s alleged failure to disburse payments to farmers for the past four months where they sold out their dried cocoa beans to the Board.
This prolonged delay they stressed, has forced many farmers into a desperate cycle of borrowing to sustain themselves and their families.
Adding to their list of grievances the farmers also pointed fingers at the government’s perceived failure to implement adequate pest and disease control measures.
They lamented the drastic reduction in farm spraying exercises which have allegedly dwindled from the four times yearly frequency under the previous NPP administration to a mere single spraying per year under the current leadership of the Ndc.
This they argued is significantly impacting yields and is a major challenge for farmers.
The farmers emphasized that their numerous consultations and appeals to the government to address these pressing issues and to ensure timely payments have yielded no tangible results.
The situation has become so dire that some farmers are contemplating a desperate measures of smuggling their cocoa beans to the neighborhood countries for sale.
Others have gone as far as threatening to sell their cocoa farms to illegal mining operators (galamseyers) and abandon the farming profession .
A palpable sense of regret was also expressed by some farmers who indicated their decision to vote for the NDC.
They contended that despite electoral promises to increase cocoa prices President Mahama’s administration has failed to deliver on these commitments and has further exacerbated their financial woes by failing to pay them.
The farmers believe that the removal of Randy Abbey is crucial to restore confidence within the cocoa farming community.
They contended that Randy Abbey’s continued presence in office would not only risks the collapse of Ghana’s vital cocoa industry but it would also pose as an embarrassment to President Mahama’s administration in both domestically and on the international scene.
The farmers are therefore imploring the authorities to act quickly to address their concerns before the cocoa industry colapses.
