The Community Focus Foundation-Ghana (CFF-Ghana) has described the Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC) Limited’s introduction of a comprehensive 24-hour operational model as a “game changer” for Ghana’s cocoa value chain.
The foundation said the initiative, structured around three strategic pillars—Offload 24, Load 24 and Export 24—represented one of the most significant operational reforms introduced into the cocoa sector in recent years.
In a statement issued on Thursday, August 27, 2026, the Executive Director of CFF-Ghana, Mr Richard Kasu, said the initiative came at a critical time when Ghana needed to improve productivity, reduce operational bottlenecks, accelerate exports and strengthen domestic value addition.
According to him, cocoa was an international commodity traded across different time zones, making it necessary for Ghana to move away from operational systems constrained by traditional working hours.
He said the 24-hour model had the potential to accelerate cocoa exports and improve shipment scheduling, while providing more reliable supplies to domestic processing companies.
The foundation also said the shift-based system could improve the utilisation of cocoa-sector assets, raise productivity and create additional employment opportunities across the logistics and wider cocoa value chain.
It further noted that the initiative could strengthen Ghana’s competitiveness on the international cocoa market and support the government’s 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development agenda.
CFF-Ghana said the reform should not be viewed merely as an administrative adjustment, but as a fundamental change in how Ghana organised its cocoa economy to respond to the demands of modern international trade.
The foundation commended the Managing Director of CMC, Dr Wisdom Kofi Dogbey, the Board, Management and staff of CMC, as well as the leadership of COCOBOD and other stakeholders who contributed to the introduction of the initiative.
It said increasing cocoa production alone would not guarantee the success of Ghana’s cocoa sector, stressing the need to improve the efficiency with which cocoa was stored, transported, processed, marketed and exported.
CFF-Ghana therefore called on Licensed Buying Companies, cocoa processors, transporters, shipping lines, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, security agencies, regulatory institutions and workers to support the implementation of the 24-hour operational framework.
The foundation cautioned that the initiative could only achieve its full potential if the entire cocoa value chain coordinated its operations to eliminate avoidable delays and ensure the seamless movement of cocoa from producers and warehouses to factories, ports and international markets.
It also urged CMC to establish clear performance indicators and regularly publish progress reports on key outcomes, including turnaround times, volumes handled, export efficiency, safety and service delivery.
“Moving from policy discussions to practical institutional reforms that can produce measurable improvements in productivity and service delivery” was essential to the transformation of Ghana’s cocoa economy, CFF-Ghana said.
By: Christian Kpesese/NR NEWS
