President John Dramani Mahama has returned to Accra following a successful high-level bilateral engagement with his Ivorian counterpart, President Alassane Ouattara, aimed at securing the future of the cocoa industry and improving farmers’ livelihoods in both countries.
The two leaders met on Tuesday for the Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana High-Level Summit on the Future of the Cocoa Economy. The summit culminated in the signing of a landmark Joint Declaration, reaffirming the two largest cocoa-producing nations’ commitment to price stability, environmental protection, and industrialisation.
Expressing great satisfaction with the progress made by the Joint Technical Committee, President Mahama and President Ouattara noted that the farmer must remain at the heart of all cocoa governance. With both countries accounting for approximately 60% of global production, the leaders underscored their “special responsibility” to lead the sector toward economic justice.
A key highlight of the deliberations was the reinforcement of the Living Income Differential (LID) and the harmonisation of producer prices. By aligning their marketing strategies and price announcements, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire aim to provide farmers with a buffer against the volatility of international market prices.
The two Presidents also discussed environmental threats to agriculture and expressed grave concern over the impact of illegal mining on water bodies and lakes.
The leaders agreed on a joint strategy to aggressively reduce illegal mining activities, initiate comprehensive cleanup operations for shared water sources, and mitigate the effects of climate change on crop yields.
President Mahama and President Ouattara also pledged to deepen scientific research to combat the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD) and other pests. They also committed to a shift from being mere exporters of raw beans to becoming industrial hubs. This includes increasing local processing capacities and stimulating cocoa consumption within the African sub-region.
The “Cocoa Alliance” is also expected to expand, with the two leaders expressing a desire to welcome other African producer countries into the fold to enhance the continent’s collective bargaining power on the global stage.
Summary of the Joint Declaration adopted after the summit and issued in Abidjan on June 16, 2026.
1. Implementation of a common framework for determining producer prices and reinforcing market intelligence to ensure fair remuneration for farmers.
2. Recognition of the Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CIGCI) and the African Regional Standards for Sustainable Cocoa (ARS-1000) as vital tools for traceability.
3. Strengthening cooperation between national research institutes to eliminate the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD).
4. A commitment to processing substantial volumes of cocoa locally and promoting intra-African trade in finished cocoa products.
5. Opening the cocoa alliance to other African producers to increase Africa’s share of the global cocoa-chocolate value chain, which currently remains marginal despite the continent producing 80% of the world’s beans.
