By Jibril Abdul Mumuni
Accra, Feb. 5, GNA- The Licensed Cocoa Buyers Association of Ghana (LICOBAG) says unpaid and frustrated cocoa farmers have begun the harassment and citizen’s arrest of Purchasing Clerks across several districts.
Mr. Vitus Dzah, the General Secretary of the Association said COCOBOD had failed to pay for cocoa delivered since December 2025, which had left LBCs without the cash flow needed to pay farmers for beans already collected.
Addressing the media in a press conference in Accra, he said the purchasing clerks who served as the face of the LBCs in the villages, were now being harassed and arrested by farmers who had surrendered their harvest but are yet to receive payment.
The General Secretary warned that the detention of the clerks in police cells was a signal of the total breakdown of the social fabric in cocoa-growing communities.
He noted that the lack of payment was breeding deep-seated resentment, making the rural environment increasingly unsafe for purchasing activities and human life.
The General Secretary said that the novel financing framework introduced by COCOBOD had essentially collapsed, leaving the rural economy in a state of volatile unrest and physical danger for workers.
He said the breakdown of, trust at the farm gate was a direct result of the transition from the traditional annual syndicated loan to a self-financing model.
“This shift has resulted in a total liquidity vacuum where Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) are forced to borrow from local banks at interest rates as high as 29.8 per cent to cover 60 per cent of purchases, while COCOBOD is expected to provide the remaining 40 per cent upon delivery to port,” he said.
Mr. Dzah stated that this delay in payment has created a dangerous bottleneck, where the most intense part of the crisis was being felt by the Purchasing Clerks.
The General Secretary cautioned that if the tension was not solved immediately, the industry faced outcomes, including farmers switching to alternative livelihoods and the surge of illegal mining.
He revealed that desperate farmers, lacking immediate income, are being driven to sell their cocoa lands to galamsey operators for quick cash.
The Association called on the government and COCOBOD to immediately secure a $300 million facility to clear the backlog of payments and ensure the release of clerks currently held in custody before the industry permanently lost the trust of its most vital stakeholders.
GNA
05 Feb. 2026
Edited by Samuel Osei-Frempong