Examinando por Autor "Alhassan, Yahaya"

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An Analysis of the economic welfare of farmers in the cocoa industry of Ghana.
(Universidad EARTH, 2020-12) Alhassan, Yahaya; Wünscher, Tobias
This The economy of Ghana largely depends on agriculture which accounts for nearly 30% of overall Gross Domestic Product. Among the agricultural products, cocoa has a predominant role. Ghana is presently the world’s second largest producer of cocoa beans after the Ivory Coast. According to the Bank of Ghana, export receipts of cocoa beans and products for the first quarter of 2011 were USD 859.4 million, accounting for about 61 percent of total export earnings as compared with USD 682.5 million at 48.8 percent in the previous year. Public policies have incentivized the production of cocoa. This has generated economic benefits for farmers and the country as a whole. There is, however, reason to believe that this might have caused over-specialization in some cases. This study examines the effects of crop diversification on the welfare of Ghanaian cocoa farmers. The locations chosen for this study were Suhyen, Asokore and Oyoko, three villages in the New Juaben District of the Eastern Region of Ghana. A total of 151 households were sampled using a simple random technique. Structured questionnaires were designed and the data was collected through in person interviews. The questionnaires collected information on household economic welfare, crop diversification and a number of other household and farm attributes in order to control for their effects. The gathered information also provided some general insight on the nature of their households and farming activities. The data was analyzed in a series of multivariate linear regression models which combined alternative indicators for welfare and crop diversification. The findings suggest that crop diversification has a positive effect on welfare, measured by total production value and total asset value. However, in the case of total production value this is highly dependent on the productivity and income generating capacity of these alternative crops. It is therefore recommendable that cocoa promoting policies do no lose sight of the importance of alternative crops for small-holders and are complemented by capacity programs that help small-holders exploit the maximum benefits that can be derived from these crops. The findings also generated clear insights on cocoa farming itself. Per acre productivity increased welfare. And among the many determinants of productivity, the age of cocoa plantations stood out. It is therefore prudent for policies to pursue increases in land productivity in general, and rejuvenation of cocoa plantations in particular.