Economic Sustainability of Cocoa Production in Ghana : Western Region, Ellembelle District

Abstract

Cocoa production has contributed immensely to the Ghanaian economy since its first cultivation in the country many years ago. The cocoa industry remains a formidable sector, which absorbs a greater portion of the unemployment, hence serves as a source of livelihood to many people in the country, especially to those in the rural areas in Ghana. Despite the significant strides the industry has made on the Ghanaian economy for many decades, its sustainability has increasingly become a major challenge in recent times with the decline of yields, crop quality and ageing farmers. Though the government subsidises some of the farming inputs such as fertilizer supply, seedlings, spraying and other farming inputs, in order to revamp the sector, yet production levels and quality continue to decline. In order to achieve a successful path to sustainability and maximise yields, it is important to identify and analyse major challenges throughout the value and supply chain with greater effort mobilized on the part of all stakeholders to address the issues. This research has outlined some of these challenges on the part of the farmer, government (COCOBOD) and the licensed buying companies. The effect of some of the challenges on the industry and the way forward to the path of achieving sustainability have also been highlighted in this research. The research calls for greater involvement of all stakeholders in the industry to find a common goal towards addressing the challenges facing the industry in the path to achieve sustainability and increase productivity and quality.