Ghana raised 3.39 billion cedis ($289 million) in its first sale of cocoa bills since a debt default, with the proceeds to be used to buy beans from farmers during the 2026-27 season.

The debt — the first part of the Ghana Cocoa Board’s 16.3 billion-cedi note program to finance the harvest that began Sept. 25 — was sold at a coupon of 11%, according to people familiar with the transaction who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly about it.

Cocobod, as the board is known, regulates the cocoa industry in the world’s second-largest producer. A spokesman for the board declined to comment.

The sale marks Cocobod’s first fundraising from the domestic market since the body restructured its domestic loans in 2023, alongside a government debt overhaul. The board’s financial difficulties have shut it out of international capital markets, ending more than three decades of regular syndicated borrowing from foreign banks to finance the crop.

Ghana is targeting cocoa production of 650,000 tons in the current season, down from more than 750,000 tons delivered to Cocobod warehouses during the campaign that just ended. The lower target reflects expectations of adverse weather and crop diseases, including black pod.

The country raised the price paid to cocoa farmers by 2.4% to 42,400 cedis ($3,601) per ton last month, further widening the gap with neighboring Ivory Coast, the world’s largest producer, which maintained farmgate prices on Sept. 1 at 1.2 million CFA francs ($2,060).

The wider price differential may increase the incentive for cocoa to be smuggled into Ghana from Ivory Coast, potentially adding to Cocobod’s financing needs if it buys more beans entering the country through unofficial channels.