In a bold move to salvage Ghana’s dwindling cocoa industry, the government has unveiled a groundbreaking initiative to acquire 200,000 hectares of land for cocoa plantations, aiming to restore national production levels to the historic one million metric tonnes mark.

The announcement was made by the Minister for Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, during the swearing-in ceremony of an eleven-member Board of Directors for the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), held at the Ministry of Finance in Accra.

Dr Forson, now an ex-officio member of the COCOBOD Board following a new legal provision, described the cocoa sector as being in a state of emergency, with national output slashed by nearly half in recent years from over one million metric tonnes to about 500,000 metric tonnes.

“Cocoa has always been the mainstay of our economy, and that must not change,” he said. “Unfortunately, massive mismanagement in recent years has led to a worrying downturn in both production and financial stability. It is time to act decisively.”

According to Dr Forson, the 200,000-hectare acquisition plan will see the government, through COCOBOD, establish large-scale plantation farms to supplement the efforts of smallholder farmers. The strategy aims to drive long-term sustainability while quickly increasing production capacity.

He further identified the alarming spread of cocoa swollen shoot disease, especially in the Western Region, as a major obstacle to productivity. Addressing this, he said, would be central to the success of the new strategy.

The newly appointed COCOBOD Board Chair, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, echoed the urgency of the mission, pledging to “reset, retool, and reposition COCOBOD into a model institution that delivers for Ghana’s economy and cocoa farmers.”

The initiative signals a renewed commitment by the government to reposition cocoa at the heart of Ghana’s economic revival and job creation agenda, especially in rural communities. If successful, the ambitious plantation model could redefine cocoa production dynamics in the country and across the West African sub-region.