{"id":117309,"date":"2026-02-28T13:01:58","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T13:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=117309"},"modified":"2026-02-28T13:01:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T13:01:58","slug":"we-must-put-an-end-to-cocoa-politics-victoria-bright","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=117309","title":{"rendered":"We must put an end to cocoa politics \u2013 Victoria Bright"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>3 Minute, 12 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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International corporate lawyer and entrepreneur Victoria Bright has called for an end to what she describes as \u201ccocoa politics\u201d, urging policymakers to focus on long-term reforms that protect farmers and secure the future of the sector.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Newsfile <\/em>on JoyNews <\/strong>on Saturday, 28 February, during a discussion on the 2026 State of the Nation Address, Ms Bright said Ghana\u2019s cocoa industry is at a critical point.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that we have to make progress in cocoa, and to do that, we have to stop the cocoa politics,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

According to her, the challenges facing the sector are not new. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs we all know, these problems have been with us from time immemorial,\u201d she said, adding that she sympathised with the President over the difficult choices involved in managing the industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do sympathise with the President that he had to do a difficult balancing act between the greater good, if you like, and how to protect the interests of our cherished and very hard-working farmers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ms Bright warned that the cocoa sector is now facing what she described as a \u201cmoment of structural truth\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur cocoa sector has now come to a point where it\u2019s facing a moment of structural truth. Between the lack of proper investment into the industry and galamsey, the sector is really suffering,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She raised concerns about the ageing population of cocoa farmers, noting that many have spent decades in the industry with little to show for their labour.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you see the average age of the cocoa farmer, they\u2019re old. These are people who have worked for 40 years. I heard one saying he had worked like 50 years, ever since he was a child. They have nothing to show for it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She argued that because cocoa revenues benefit the entire nation, more attention must be given to the welfare of farmers to attract young people into the sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe youth are not being attracted to cocoa farming,\u201d she observed.<\/p>\n

Ms Bright also pointed to Ghana\u2019s declining position in global cocoa production. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe used to be number one in the world. Then we are now at number two, and the way Ecuador is going, very soon we\u2019ll be number three. So what is it about us?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

She cautioned against neglecting cocoa in favour of other revenue sources such as gold. <\/p>\n

\u201cJust because we\u2019re getting reserves from gold and other things does not mean that we should abandon our core asset. We must not do that because other people are trying to get into the space. So there\u2019s still value in being in that space.\u201d<\/p>\n

While welcoming proposed reforms in the sector, she said key questions remain about their long-term impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, we must have reforms. The proposed reforms are quite ambitious. But the real question is, are they economically coherent? Will they work in the long term? Are they fiscally sustainable? And operationally, will they be feasible?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

She said that any reform must ultimately protect farmers. <\/p>\n

\u201cMost importantly, will it protect and support our farmers? Because at the end of the day, that is what this is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Responding to a question on political debate surrounding the sector, Ms Bright said the focus should move away from partisan arguments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not about politics. For me, this is about the farmers, pure and simple. And Ghana,\u201d she said. \u201cI want us to focus on the farmer. Pure and simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that cocoa farmers have \u201csuffered in silence for too long\u201d and welcomed the renewed national attention on their plight.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s in their interest and in the nation\u2019s interest to strengthen the sector. It\u2019s good that they\u2019ve blown this onto the national stage,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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International corporate lawyer and entrepreneur Victoria Bright has called for an end to what she describes as \u201ccocoa politics\u201d, urging policymakers to focus on long-term reforms that protect farmers and secure the future of the sector.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17046,1883,10,9,9018],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cocoa-politics","category-national","category-politics","category-popular","category-victoria-bright"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=117309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117309\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=117309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=117309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=117309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}