Compliance with cocoa quality management practices in Ghana; To what extent are cocoa farmers complying?
Faizal Adams,
James Osei Mensah,
Seth Etuah,
Gifty Boakye Appiah,
Amos Mensah,
Robert Aidoo,
Jonathan Quaye,
Kwabena Ofori
Affiliations
Faizal Adams
Corresponding author.; Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
James Osei Mensah
Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Seth Etuah
Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Gifty Boakye Appiah
Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Amos Mensah
Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Robert Aidoo
Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Jonathan Quaye
Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Kwabena Ofori
Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Despite the fact that adhering to cocoa quality management practices (QMPs) is crucial to satisfy consumer food safety standards and receive premium cocoa pricing, evidence of cocoa farmers' compliance with these recommended QMPs is scanty in Ghana. The purpose of this study was to assess the extent and antecedents of farmers’ compliance with six QMPs including pest and disease, harvesting and pod storage, pod breaking and bean removal, fermentation, drying, and bagging and storage practices in Ghana. Data from 200 farmers was solicited and analyzed using a compliance index as well as a seemingly unrelated regression (SURE) model to account for cross-correlation effects among six recommended QMPs. The results show an overall index of 2.46, implying that the cocoa farmers moderately comply with the six QMPs. Specifically, compliance levels for fermentation (index = 2.90) and drying (index = 2.92) practices are high, while farmers showed low compliance with bagging and storage practices (index = 1.33). The SURE model exhibits heterogeneous covariates that influence farmers’ compliance across the six QMPs. However, extension access, sex of the farmer, and to some extent awareness of quality management practices, as well as education, are significant determinants of compliance across all six quality management practices. These findings have implications for strengthening the Extension Services Division of COCOBOD and gender mainstreaming of cocoa quality improvement training to address the challenges of women cocoa farmers.
