Ghana is scheduled to host the 2027 World Cocoa Foundation Partnership Meeting in March 2027 at Accra, in what Government describes as a major milestone for the country and Africa’s leadership in the global cocoa sector.
Speaking at the official announcement ceremony, the Deputy Minister of Finance Hon. Thomas Nyarko Ampem, stressed the need for resilience and sustainability in Ghana’s performance in the global cocoa sector.
Reflecting on the cocoa industry, Mr. Ampem noted that cocoa supports the livelihood of over 50 million people globally and sustains a chocolate industry worth over US$100 billion annually. He added that cocoa has also supported livelihoods, financed development and contributed significantly to Ghana’s economic transformation. Despite this, many cocoa farmers continue to struggle with low incomes.
“That contradiction must concern all of us. Because the future of chocolate cannot be secure if the future of cocoa farmers remains uncertain” he said
He further acknowledged the unprecedented global pressures facing the sector such as climate change, cocoa diseases, environmental degradation, volatility in global cocoa prices and the need for sustainability and traceability in the industry noting that these pressures expose the structural inefficiencies within the global cocoa economies.
The 2027 World Cocoa Foundation Meeting will bring together leaders from across the global cocoa and chocolate industry to address pressing challenges and opportunities including climate resilience, crop diseases, farmer livelihoods, supply security, and long term sustainability.
Mr. Ampem expressed confidence in the theme of the Meeting “From Origin to Global Resilience”, describing it as timely, relevant and aligned with Ghana’s ongoing “Cocoa Reset” agenda.
He described the Reset Agenda as one of the most significant transformation efforts in the cocoa sector in recent decades.
According to the Deputy Minister, government had instituted a number of reforms to restore financial discipline, strengthen governance, improve farmer support, boost productivity, and expand local processing, so Ghana could retain more cocoa value and competes effectively in the global market.
The 2027 Partnership Meeting, he noted was a platform to promote farmer prosperity, sustainability, resilience, innovation, and long-term value creation, and to shape a new global cocoa compact.
He also noted that the Meeting’s coinciding with the Ghana Cocoa Board’s (COCOBOD) 80th Anniversary and Ghana @ 70 celebrations create full alignment for a meaningful discussing around what he described as Ghana’s “strategic national asset”
Mr. Ampem reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to serving as a platform for critical global conversations at a time when collaboration, innovation and collective action are in dire demand.