The Cocoa Farmers Alliance Association of Africa is set to boost regional cooperation and address what it described as growing risks of global investments shifting away from the continent’s cocoa sector efforts at an upcoming summit.

The President of COFAAA, Adeola Adegoke, said in a statement that the Africa Cocoa Summit and Awards 2025, which will be held on October 22 and 23 in Ghana, under the theme ‘One Voice, One Future – For a Thriving Africa’, will bring together cocoa farmers, government representatives, industry leaders and international stakeholders to shape a unified response to challenges threatening Africa’s cocoa economy.

Adegoke said Africa, which produces over 70 per cent of the world’s cocoa through key countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Uganda, remains vulnerable due to fragmented policy advocacy, declining global support, and emerging threats, including synthetic cocoa research.

He stated, “The summit will strategically counter the shift of global cocoa investment away from Africa. We are not just a voice membership organisation. COFAAA is a movement committed to breaking the cycle of generational poverty for cocoa farmers in Africa through strong alliances and strategic collaboration with all stakeholders.”

According to the COFAAA president, strengthening regional cooperation and building a unified policy voice remain top on the summit’s agenda, alongside championing fair trade models, advancing farmer-centred pricing systems, and pushing for traceable, deforestation-free cocoa production.

He noted that the summit comes at a critical time when cocoa prices are surging globally, offering what he described as “a window of opportunity to push for systemic changes in the cocoa sector”.

Adegoke added that the two-day event will feature keynote addresses from African and global agricultural leaders, panel discussions on market reforms and sustainability, and the COFAAA Cocoa Awards, which will honour excellence in production, leadership and innovation.

It will also see the launch of new frameworks aimed at developing climate-resilient, traceable cocoa ecosystems across the continent.

Adegoke, who is also the president of the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria, warned that Africa must not watch passively while global actors reshape the cocoa economy. “Africa cannot be stagnant while global actors reshape the cocoa economy without us. It is time to collaborate, strategise, and lead,” he said.

COFAAA reaffirmed its commitment to eliminating poverty among African cocoa producers through inclusive advocacy, shared prosperity, and coordinated policy engagement.