Origin In 1937, farmers in
Gold Coast, a colony of the
British Empire equal to contemporary
Ghana, refused to continue selling cocoa at the low prices set by European merchants and decided to withhold cocoa from the market. The strike went on for 8 months, until the British government acted by setting up the
Nowell Commission of Enquiry to investigate the issue. The Nowell Commission report advised the government to assist cocoa farmers by establishing a Marketing Board.
West African Produce Control Board (1940–1946) In 1940, the government established the West African Produce Control Board to purchase cocoa under guaranteed prices from all West African countries. It operated throughout
World War II and was dissolved in 1946.
Cocoa Marketing Board (1947–1979) The first attempt to regulate market value and production was in 1947 through the Ghana Marketing Board
. The Ghana Marketing Board was established by ordinance in 1947 with the sum of 27 million
Ghanaian Cedi as its initial working capital. In 1979, this Board was dissolved and reconstituted as the Ghana Cocoa Board.
Ghana Cocoa Board (1979–) In 1984, the
COCOBOD underwent institutional reform aimed at subjecting the cocoa sector to market forces. ''COCOBOD's'' role was reduced, and 40 percent of its staff, or at least 35,000 employees, were dismissed. Furthermore, the government shifted responsibility for crop transport to the private sector.
Subsidies for production inputs (
fertilizers,
insecticides,
fungicides, and equipment) were removed, and there was a measure of privatization of the processing sector through at least one
joint venture. In addition, a new payment system known as the Akuafo Check System was introduced in 1982 at the point of purchase of dried beans. Ghana's Government implemented a strategic plan in 1984 putting the sale of agriculture, particularly Cocoa, in the hands of the Government. With the regulation of pricing and manufacturing controlled by the government over 30,000+ jobs were lost but Ghana still holds its spot as one of three highest yielding countries of Cocoa. In May 2024,
Reuters reported that COCOBOD would borrow up to $1.5 billion by September to finance 2024/25 cocoa purchases and compensate for low output. An earlier agreed $800 million loan faced delays due to low cocoa output. ==Governance==