Cocoa Beans Rot as West African Farmers Turn to Alternative Livelihoods After Price Crash
KONA, Ghana, Cocoa farmers across West Africa are facing mounting economic pressure as a sharp decline in global cocoa prices leaves large quantities of beans unsold and rotting in warehouses. The downturn has forced many farmers in major producing countries such as Ghana and Ivory Coast to abandon cocoa farming or convert their land to other income-generating activities.
One such farmer is Manu Yaw Fofie, a 52-year-old cocoa grower from Kona in Ghana. Born into the cocoa business, Fofie inherited farmland that once produced significant yields. However, the dramatic fall in cocoa prices over the past year has turned what was once a valuable asset into a financial burden.
Facing dwindling income, Fofie has resorted to leasing part of his cocoa farm to illegal sand miners. The activity has become increasingly lucrative due to rising construction demand, as sand is a key material used in concrete production. While the arrangement provides immediate financial relief, it comes at a heavy environmental cost. Sand mining strips the land of its fertility, making it unsuitable for future farming.
Fofie admits he understands the long-term consequences but says he has little choice. Cocoa yields on his farm have dropped drastically over the years, from about 300 bags annually during peak production years to just 50 bags in 2025. He attributes the decline to several factors, including changing climate conditions and persistent plant diseases.
His situation reflects a broader trend across West Africa, where farmers are increasingly abandoning cocoa farming after the once-profitable commodity suffered a major price crash. Together, Ghana and Ivory Coast account for nearly 70 percent of the world’s cocoa supply, making the region critical to the global chocolate industry.
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In Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa producer, the government was forced to buy excess cocoa beans from farmers earlier this year as unsold stocks accumulated. Authorities have also reduced the official farm-gate price for cocoa by more than half for the 2026 season in an effort to stabilize the market.
Agricultural experts say the crisis exposes weaknesses in the region’s cocoa pricing system. Edward Karaweh, former general secretary of the General Agricultural Workers Union, noted that better preparation could have helped mitigate the impact of the price collapse.
“Preparation allows you to mitigate the crisis,” Karaweh said, emphasizing that while crises cannot always be prevented, governments can reduce their effects with stronger policies and planning.
The price shock follows a dramatic boom-and-bust cycle in global cocoa markets. In 2024, cocoa futures surged to more than $12,000 per metric ton, reaching their highest levels in decades. However, prices later plunged to around $4,000 per metric ton as supply exceeded demand, leaving global traders reluctant to buy beans from West African producers at previously agreed prices.
As a result, warehouses across the region now hold large quantities of unsold cocoa, with some farmers reporting delays in payments for beans they already delivered to government buyers.
Meanwhile, climate-related challenges are worsening production conditions. Farmers report irregular rainfall, crop diseases, and declining yields across cocoa-growing regions.
In Ivory Coast, cocoa farmer François N’Gbin has also turned to alternative income sources. He has leased part of his farmland to illegal gold miners, who dig pits in search of precious minerals. The mining operations have left parts of his land flooded with murky water and unsuitable for farming.
“Today, gold is more profitable than cocoa,” N’Gbin said, noting that miners pay about 1,500 CFA francs per gram of gold.
According to Moussa Koné, president of the Ivorian cocoa farmers’ union, the situation is becoming widespread as farmers struggle to support their families.
“Cocoa is not selling, but farmers still need money to feed their families,” he explained.
Governments in the region are now racing to respond to the crisis. In Ghana, authorities have begun easing price control policies and earlier this year reduced the fixed price for cocoa beans by 28 percent to make exports more competitive.
However, many farmers say the new prices barely cover production costs. Some warn that continued price cuts could force them to abandon cocoa farming entirely.
Mercy Amponsah, a 50-year-old farmer from Ghana, joined other producers who protested in Accra earlier this year against the reduced cocoa price. She says the lower income threatens her family’s future.
“Accepting the current price means my son will have to drop out of school,” she said.
Although cocoa production has expanded in parts of South America and Asia, West Africa remains the dominant global supplier. Still, farmers like Fofie say the industry is becoming increasingly unsustainable.
“If I keep this cocoa farm for the next 10 years,” he said, “I would die a poor man.”
