The Great Ghanaian “Cocoa War”: Policy Recommendations for Enhancing Revenue and Profits from Cocoa— Ghana’s Economic Sweet Spot

Abstract

The chocolate industry is worth over $239 billion USD. This amount is enough for all the countries involved to receive a proportional share of the profits. So why do Ghanaian farmers, a significant important part of the chocolate value chain, only receive a mere 6 percent of the $239 billion USD? Having accepted this exploitative trade relationship for far too long, Ghana has decided to fight back. Though the passion for change is there, the few policies the Ghanaian government enacted have remained largely unsuccessful. Using qualitative field research, this thesis critically examines the problems associated with several subsections of the Ghanaian cocoa industry, including farming, government institutions, and domestic chocolate production. This thesis provides twelve policy recommendations as a means of mitigating the associated issues and improving the economic benefit the country sees from its natural resource in order to increase the income of farmers and the nation’s development trajectory.