As part of the government’s efforts to expand access to higher education for rural communities, the Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has announced a new Tertiary Education Scholarship Scheme dedicated to children of cocoa farmers in the country.
The initiative, announced on Monday, August 4, 2025, forms part of President John Dramani Mahama’s broader social intervention agenda.
Dr. Forson revealed that the Cocoa Tertiary Scholarship Scheme will be developed and managed by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) during the upcoming 2025/2026 cocoa season, with benefits kicking in for students entering tertiary institutions in the 2026/2027 academic year.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to announce to cocoa farmers that President Mahama has introduced a Tertiary Education Scholarship Scheme for children of cocoa farmers,” Dr. Forson stated.
The programme is designed to relieve the financial pressure on farming households while acknowledging the vital role cocoa farmers play in Ghana’s economy.
With cocoa as the country’s leading export commodity, the administration aims to address the long-standing barriers cocoa-farming families face in accessing tertiary education.
COCOBOD has been tasked with designing and operationalising the programme’s implementation framework in advance of the next academic year.
“Consequently, in the 2025/26 season, COCOBOD will develop modalities and implement the Cocoa Tertiary Scholarship Scheme for children of cocoa farmers, which will take effect from the 2026/27 academic year.”
The announcement comes in the wake of other strategic interventions in the cocoa sector. These include:
- Free Cocoa Inputs: Reintroduction of complementary fertiliser and farm inputs to boost productivity.
- Historic Price Increase: A 62.58% hike in cocoa’s producer price, lifting the rate from US$3,100 to US$5,040 per tonne for the 2025/2026 season—the highest in Ghana’s history.
The new scholarship scheme reinforces the Mahama-led administration’s commitment to empowering farming communities and investing in human capital development for sustainable growth.
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