The world’s two biggest cocoa producers halted sales for the harvest that will begin in October 2020, pending an agreement with buyers on a minimum price.

It’s a nightmare scenario for a cocoa farmer: walking through your plantation you spot some red-veined leaves. Maybe it’s a big lump on one of the branches.

Agreement is a turning point for scaling up the cocoa value chain – President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of Ghana; Ghana is bankable, cocoa is bankable and of course Africa is bankable – Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, President, African Development Bank .

Cocoa production has been the backbone of Ghana’s economy since the 1870s. It dominates the agricultural sector and contributes about 30% of the country’s export earnings. Cocoa employs about 800,000 farmers directly.

For Larbi Siaw, a cocoa farmer in Ghana’s western north region, this is one of the busiest times of year. Like millions of smallholders across west Africa, he and his family are chopping down ripe yellow pods, scooping out white pulpy beans and leaving them to dry on reed mats in the heat.