Anayo Ezugwu 
As cocoa prices soar to record high, a report by the Cocoa Barometer, has said that millions of small holder farmers in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria, who produce most of the world’s cocoa, remain trapped in poverty.
The 2025 Cocoa Barometer report released yesterday October 8, heightened volatility in recent years, driven by market volatility, environmental degradation, and human rights challenges in cocoa sector.
The report revealed that West Africa’s producers continue to bear the heaviest burdens of climate shocks, governance gaps, and unfair value distribution. It said: “Three things are happening simultaneously in the cocoa sector: it is bad, it is better than before, and there is a lot of room for improvement.
“Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana together produce more than 60 percent of the world’s cocoa, shaping global prices and policy, while Nigeria is emerging as a major player, projected to produce 350,000 tonnes in the 2024/25 season.
“Yet despite this dominance, most farmers have not benefited from the recent price surge. “Forward-selling mechanisms have delayed price increases, while yields continue to decline due to aging trees, crop diseases, and erratic rainfall linked to climate change.”
