By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The President of the Cocoa Farmers Alliance Association of Africa, Adeola Adegoke, has called for a harmonised cocoa pricing model across African markets, warning that existing pricing frameworks are failing to deliver meaningful benefits to farmers despite their original objective of protecting producers from market volatility.
Adegoke made the call in an open letter addressed to cocoa farmers across the continent, where he lamented that producers are facing declining incomes and increasing uncertainty even after the historic cocoa price rally recorded in 2024.
He said the downturn in prices over the past year has affected farmers in all cocoa-producing countries in Africa, noting that the situation has dampened the optimism generated during the price boom.
“We understand that cocoa farmers are currently going through a difficult time due to the downturn in cocoa prices over the past year. No origin countries in Africa are currently immune from this terrible situation, which has negatively impacted the good enthusiasm exhibited by all of us during the cocoa price boom in 2024,” he said.
The COFAAA president explained that many governments introduced regulated and semi-regulated pricing systems to shield farmers from fluctuations in the international market, but the measures have not produced the expected results.
“At COFAAA, we find it concerning that the current pricing models do not seem to be delivering the intended benefits for cocoa farmers. These systems were designed to help stabilise prices across cocoa-producing countries, yet in practice, prices have been quickly adjusted to match international market fluctuations,” he said.
He added that the situation has weakened the stability such policies were meant to provide, stressing the need for a continent-wide review of cocoa pricing structures.
Adegoke also raised concerns over what he described as a growing disconnect between the global chocolate industry and the welfare of African farmers, despite the continent supplying the bulk of the world’s cocoa.
“Global chocolate consumption has long been sustained by the hard work of African cocoa farmers, many of whom continue to face serious challenges, including low incomes, child labour risks, limited access to education, poor infrastructure, inadequate healthcare and growing security concerns such as illegal mining,” he said.
He further questioned the long-term effectiveness of existing pricing interventions, including the Living Income Differential introduced by Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire to improve farmers’ earnings.
“It is concerning to see that over the past year, despite the sharp downturn in cocoa prices, the impact of the Living Income Differential has not been as strong as many had hoped,” he said.
While acknowledging the initiative as a positive step, Adegoke said more clarity is needed on its future direction.
“We respectfully encourage the Conseil du Café-Cacao, Ghana COCOBOD and the Ivory Coast-Ghana Cocoa Initiative to provide further clarity on the current status and future direction of the LID,” he added.
To address the challenges facing producers, the COFAAA president disclosed that the association has inaugurated a Global Members Assembly and Empowerment Forum aimed at developing a unified African position on cocoa pricing and farmer welfare.
According to him, the forum will review current market developments and propose practical solutions, noting that Africa produces about 70 per cent of global cocoa but earns less than six per cent of the over 147-billion-dollar global chocolate market.
“COFAAA as an organisation representing producers in the continent has set up a COFAAA Global Members Assembly and Empowerment Forum to appraise the current development as it affects us as a continent and come up with a position,” he said.
He explained that the forum would include about 20 farmers from each participating country, including Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Uganda and Sierra Leone, alongside expert-led subcommittees to guide discussions.
Adegoke also announced that public engagement on the issue would begin on Saturday, 21 March, 2026, through a virtual session to allow wider participation among stakeholders across the continent.
“We cannot continue doing the same things in the same way in Africa and expect a different outcome,” he said.
He added that the initiative would also explore measures to support farmers with inputs and safety nets to cushion the impact of falling prices and improve sustainability across cocoa-producing countries.
