Squeezed by EU Rules and Threat of Illegal Mining, Cocoa Farmers in Ghana Face a Turning Point

As illegal gold mining destroys thousands of hectares of Ghanaian forest, a new EU deforestation law aims to clean up the chocolate supply chain. Yet with gold exempt from the same rules, experts warn the regulation risks overburdening smallholders while failing to stop environmental destruction.

—

At daybreak in Begoro, in Ghana’s Eastern Region, Sammy Takyi walks slowly between rows of young cocoa trees. The soil is still cool. Broad plantain leaves hang above the tender seedlings, filtering the early morning light and shielding them from the heat that will come later in the day.

For five years, his two-hectare farm has tested his patience. Cocoa is not a crop that yields rewards quickly. It requires four to five years of care before the first meaningful harvest. During those long waiting seasons, Sammy plants plantain among the cocoa trees.

“You don’t just plant cocoa and wait,” he told Earth.Org. “The plantain feeds you and protects the cocoa. That is how you survive the years before harvest.”

His family processes cocoa into chocolate and food spices. The crop is woven into his family’s history. Yet two years ago, he stood on this same land and considered cutting everything down.

“I was tired,” he admitted. “The condition of cocoa farmers is discouraging. There are no real incentives. You wait for years, and when the harvest comes, the money does not reflect the effort.”

Why Cocoa Is Losing Its Hold on Farmers

His thoughts are not unusual in Ghana’s cocoa-growing communities. Across the cocoa belt, many farmers are quietly weighing the same decision, especially as illegal gold miners move closer to their lands with immediate cash offers.

Illegal gold mining, known as “galamsey”, has destroyed nearly 9,000 hectares of Ghana’s legally protected forest reserves, according to a Forestry Commission assessment presented in February.

The data, derived from satellite imagery covering 45 forest reserves and one national park, showed that nearly 9,000 hectares had been damaged as of the end of 2024. This is equivalent to approximately 12,500 FIFA-standard football fields.

At the University of Ghana, Peter Bilson Obour, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Geography and Resource Development, explained that, beyond illegal mining, some recommended cocoa farming practices can also frustrate farmers.

“Farmers are encouraged to integrate other trees with cocoa for shade and ecological benefits,” he said. “But some of these trees become breeding grounds for pests and diseases. Instead of helping, they create more work and cost for the farmer.”

There is also the issue of control over what stands on the farm.

“If a farmer plants timber trees and later wants to cut one, the process is not simple. You need permission. Many farmers feel it is unfair to go through bureaucracy to cut a tree on their own land.”

Over time, these obstacles shape how farmers perceive their farms. Trees that were intended to be assets begin to feel like liabilities. For some, this becomes part of the reason they listen when miners arrive.

When Gold Reaches the Cocoa Farm

In the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipality of the Western Region, Nana Boakye, a Municipal Chief Farmer, spoke with frustration about cocoa prices.

“A bag that used to sell at GH¢3,625 [US$308] now sells at GH¢2,587 [US$220],” he said. “They say the world market price has gone down. But the hardship here has not reduced.”

He has watched farmers make difficult choices. “Those who sold their farms completely have already spent the money and are left with nothing,” he said. “On the other hand, those who partnered with illegal miners are still taking money from their land.”

To him, the deeper problem lies in outdated systems. “Many of the laws guiding cocoa farming have not changed much over the years. Enforcement is weak. Farmers feel abandoned.”

A 2023 Oxfam analysis found that many Ghanaian cocoa farmers continue to earn below the living income. In such conditions, the promise of quick money from mining becomes increasingly difficult to ignore.

Kojo Ahiakpa, an agribusiness expert, sees the crisis as the intersection of weak policy coordination, global trade rules, and environmental degradation. “The laws around cocoa, forests, and mining do not connect well,” he explained. “That makes enforcement difficult and leaves gaps that are being exploited.”

With annual production averaging about 800,000 tonnes in recent years, Ghana remains the world’s second-largest cocoa producer after the Ivory Coast. To date, the country exports most of its cocoa beans in raw form and captures only a small share of the value generated by chocolate manufacturing abroad.

At the same time, gold has overtaken cocoa as Ghana’s leading export commodity. Switzerland remains one of the principal destinations for Ghanaian gold exports, handling a significant portion of the country’s gold trade. It is within this context that international regulations are beginning to reshape the cocoa sector.

Europe’s Deforestation Regulation Meets Ghana’s Cocoa Reality

In 2023, the European Union adopted the Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), requiring companies importing commodities such as cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soy, cattle, rubber, and wood into the EU market to demonstrate that these products are not linked to deforestation. Gold, however, is not covered under the regulation.

Ahiakpa described this as an imbalance with significant implications for cocoa-producing countries. “Cocoa is being monitored for deforestation. Gold, which is contributing heavily to that same deforestation, is not facing similar checks,” he said. 

The regulation requires cocoa supply chains to provide geolocation data for farms supplying the European market. “For a farmer in a remote area with limited access to the internet or technology, this creates another layer of cost and stress,” Ahiakpa said. 

Martha Rainer Opoku Mensah, a development practitioner working in Ghana’s cocoa sector, believes women farmers are likely to bear an even heavier burden under the EUDR. “While all farmers will struggle with the EUDR, women face greater barriers. Many farm jointly with their husbands, but the land is registered in the husband’s name. Without land ownership, they lack the collateral needed to access credit,” she told Earth.Org.

She noted that women also incur higher labor costs because many are unable to carry out physically demanding farm tasks on their own. “Men can often clear their farms themselves, but women usually have to hire labour. Spraying equipment is also too heavy for women to carry.”

Despite these challenges, Opoku Mensah said preparations are underway to help farmers meet the regulation’s requirements.

“The government has introduced a cocoa management system and is investing in capacity building. COCOBOD, the government institution responsible for regulating Ghana’s cocoa industry, is currently training farmer organizations on the EUDR process, beginning with cooperatives,” she explained. 

The EUDR implementation timeline has been delayed twice. Large and medium companies must now comply from December 30, 2026, while small and micro enterprises have until June 30, 2027. Even so, its influence is already reshaping Ghana’s cocoa sector, with COCOBOD rolling out traceability systems and the Forestry Commission building deforestation baselines ahead of the deadline.

Speaking at the Fourth EUDR Multi-Stakeholder event in May, Eric Amengor, COCOBOD’s Deputy Director for Monitoring and Evaluation, said, “We have put in place a system and measures that will enable companies to meet their obligations under the EUDR, including cocoa traceability and deforestation risk assessment, and we are committed to supplying the EU market with compliant cocoa.”

At the same event, Elikem Kotoko, Deputy Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission, underscored the importance of the Commission’s forest mapping efforts, saying the map “is a foundational resource designed to support COCOBOD and EU operators in their due diligence efforts.” 

Traceability System Under Scrutiny

The Ghana Cocoa Traceability System is a national digital platform that tracks cocoa beans from individual farm plots to export. As part of the system, trained field teams use GPS-enabled devices like smartphones to record the geographic coordinates of cocoa farms. 

Carla D. Martin, President of the Board at the Institute for Cacao and Chocolate Research at Harvard University, questioned the robustness of the digital cocoa traceability system, flagging that gaps in implementation could weaken its impact.

“The EUDR has opened up a conversation that was previously quite taboo. I see some benefit in the fact that people now openly speak about deforestation,” she said. There is agreement that this is an issue and that we need to address it. My biggest concern is that Ghana is more advanced than Côte d’Ivoire in its traceability efforts. However, I am already hearing that there are ways to cheat the system.”

“You can sell false geolocation points and all sorts of other things. We are also seeing that the European Union has failed to pass the legislation for two years in a row, and that has led to a significant loss of trust,” she added.

Efforts to get the Spokesperson’s Service, the official voice of the European Commission, to respond to questions on the EUDR were unsuccessful. In addition, at the time of writing, COCOBOD has not responded to Earth.Org’s Right to Information request seeking details on the effectiveness of the traceability system.

Beyond traceability, other experts warn that environmental risks add another layer to the challenge. John Newell, Founder of UK-based Tree2Bar, explained: “Chemical contamination is an obvious danger, whether from heavy metals released during mining or from substances used during extraction. These contaminants can create long-term pollution that affects human health and the environment.”

Market access, he added, could also be affected: “If significant volumes of Ghanaian cocoa become unmarketable in the EU due to non-compliance, this could put pressure on prices. Furthermore, chocolate makers will look to other countries, such as Ecuador, for supply that meets EU rules. Over time, this may affect how Ghanaian cocoa is seen in the market.”

Ghana currently enjoys a strong reputation for cocoa quality. However, persistent concerns related to mining, environmental degradation, and compliance requirements could influence sourcing decisions by international buyers.

“As of early 2026, there are signals from key markets such as Japan and the United Kingdom regarding concerns over contamination linked to mining,” Ahiakpa warned. “If they begin rejecting Ghana’s cocoa, it will create serious instability.”

The Missing Link in the Gold Supply Chain 

Christoph Wiedmer, former president of the Society for Threatened Peoples who has researched global gold supply chains since 2012, argued that regulations such as the EUDR are important but should also extend to minerals, including gold. “Often these regulations concern timber, soy, cocoa, and other products, but not minerals,” he said. “It is important to include minerals, especially because of the use of mercury, for example in the Amazon region. It is extremely polluting and harmful to people.”

He also pointed to the unique status of gold in global markets. “The problem is that gold is treated as an investment, even though much of it goes into the jewellery sector.”

According to Wiedmer, greater accountability is needed throughout the supply chain. “Refiners must be held responsible for monitoring everything. Since there is no international legislation to regulate this, we must rely on industry certification initiatives such as the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) standards. Producing countries must control gold production, and consuming countries must ensure that only legally sourced gold can enter the market.”

Hannah Mowat, Campaigns Coordinator at the Brussels-based NGO FERN, argues that traceability systems are essential if regulations are to be effective. “If we put in place a regulation without a traceable system, the regulation is totally useless because we don’t know how to apply it,” she said.

“Switzerland and the United Kingdom should also support these countries to develop such systems.”

Cocoa’s Value Leaves Ghana’s Shores 

In February, Ghana’s President John Mahama announced reforms aimed at strengthening local control over the country’s natural resources. The proposals include reducing raw commodity exports and expanding domestic processing.

However, the financing arrangements underpinning Ghana’s cocoa sector present a constraint. “Our cocoa beans are used as collateral for funding,” said Mahama. “Financiers support the purchase of the beans and, in return, the beans must be shipped to them.”

In response, Ghana joined Nigeria, the Ivory Coast and Cameroon in signing the Abuja Declaration at the Cocoa Value Addition Summit in Abuja in July, establishing the Cocoa Value Addition Alliance.

The four nations, which make up about two-thirds of global cocoa output, agreed to end raw bean exports and to deal with buyers as a single bloc. Through the “From Bean to Brand” initiative, the alliance will harmonize policies and standards while boosting local processing into products such as butter and chocolate.

Featured image: U.S. Agency for International Development/Flickr. Vertical photo: Festus Randy Jackson-Davis.

—

This story was produced with the support of Internews’ Earth Journalism Network.