Farmers from several cocoa-growing regions told JoyNews Research that despite repeated assurances from the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), payments remain outstanding. As a result, large volumes of cocoa remain unsold, leaving farmers unpaid. That is why reports that cocoa farmers have gone unpaid for months should alarm every policymaker. While farmers wait unpaid, cocoa export earnings have surged to nearly $4 billion, the highest since the pandemic. Ghana must now show that it is prepared to sustain its cocoa farmers not with promises, but with prompt payment.