Cocoa Boom, Farmer Gloom: Report Exposes Deep Poverty Despite Record Prices
By Judex OKORO
A new global report has revealed that despite record-breaking cocoa prices, millions of smallholder farmers in West Africa, including Nigeria, remain trapped in poverty.
The Cocoa Barometer 2025, released on Tuesday, paints a stark picture of inequality in the cocoa sector, showing that farmers in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria — who produce most of the world’s cocoa — are yet to benefit from the price surge.
The report attributes the crisis to volatile markets, poor governance, environmental degradation, and persistent human rights violations. It warns that while cocoa prices have reached all-time highs, most producers still face declining yields due to aging trees, crop diseases, and erratic rainfall linked to climate change.
According to the report, “Farmer poverty is at the root of virtually all problems in the cocoa sector, from deforestation to child labour and gender inequality.” It also cautions that political resistance in Europe could undermine emerging human rights and environmental protection laws aimed at improving conditions for farmers.
The barometer notes that rising prices have triggered a new cocoa production boom, which has already fueled deforestation in new parts of West Africa. Analysts fear the trend could lead to oversupply and a price crash, similar to what occurred in 2016.
The report further reveals that about 1.5 million children still work in hazardous cocoa farms across Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, while women, who perform most of the farm labour, remain excluded from decision-making and profit sharing. Farm workers and tenant farmers, it adds, are often ignored in policy discussions despite being among the most vulnerable.
On governance, the report highlights major policy gaps, including poor supply management and lack of transparency in cocoa pricing, which leave farmers exposed to market shocks.
Despite these challenges, the Cocoa Barometer 2025 expresses optimism that meaningful change is achievable through stronger collaboration among farmers, governments, companies, and civil society. It calls for urgent action in four key areas: ensuring fair pay through living incomes, protecting forests through a global deforestation moratorium, recognizing farmers as co-decision makers, and enforcing transparency and accountability across the cocoa supply chain.
The Cocoa Barometer is published by a consortium of civil society organizations and provides a comprehensive overview of sustainability challenges and progress in the cocoa industry.
