Cocoa money is flowing again: Ghana secures 3.39 billion cedis (about $288 million) to pay its farmers on time

Ghana’s cocoa regulator, COCOBOD, has raised 3.39 billion cedis — about $288 million — through a domestic debt sale, money it will use to start paying the licensed buying companies who purchase cocoa beans from farmers this season. After last season’s payment delays, when older financing arrangements fell through, this first of three planned debt tranches gets the new season off on steadier footing. Ghana is the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, so when its farmers get paid on time, whole farming communities feel it.