The World Bank Ghana office has announced a commitment of approximately $75 million to Ghana’s Cocoa Rehabilitation Project, a major initiative aimed at restoring diseased and ageing cocoa trees across the country.
The project, which falls under the West Africa Food Systems Resilience Programme, seeks to rehabilitate roughly 25,000 hectares of cocoa farms affected by disease and declining productivity. Funding will support the replacement of ageing trees with improved, high-yielding, and disease-resistant varieties, while also promoting enhanced farm management practices among local farmers.
Speaking at a World Bank Civil Society Organisation engagement on food security in Accra, Agricultural Economist Ashwini Sebastian described the cocoa rehabilitation initiative as a flagship intervention under the broader programme.
“The West Africa Food Systems Resilience Programme, financed by the World Bank and implemented by the Government of Ghana, has enabled us to leverage grant financing,” Dr. Sebastian said, noting that seed funding from the Norwegian government is also being deployed to strengthen key agricultural value chains.
Dr. Sebastian added that the immediate goal is to restore about 5,000 hectares of cocoa farms by July. Beyond cocoa, the programme is supporting the development of seed systems, trials of improved crop varieties for dry-season conditions, and the provision of cashew seedlings to diversify farmers’ income sources.
Ghana’s cocoa sector has faced mounting challenges in recent years, including swollen shoot disease, ageing tree stocks, and the effects of climate variability, which have contributed to declining yields and reduced incomes for farmers.
Analysts say that large-scale rehabilitation is critical for sustaining Ghana’s status as one of the world’s leading cocoa producers and safeguarding vital foreign exchange earnings derived from cocoa exports.
