Demographic information about GHana
Ghana. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.
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According to Encyclopedia Britannica, despite its small size and relative population to other African countries, Ghana has gained a recognition worldwide for its wealth of natural resources and its place as the first African country "south of the Sahara to achieve independence from colonial rule" (Boateng et al., 2019). Ghana is located in western Africa, bordering the Sahara desert on the inland and the Gulf of Guinea along its coast, with its largest inland water source being the man-made Lake Volta. The country's location largely determines its climate. The convergence of dry inland air and humid coastal air lead to a cycle of wet and dry seasons, with the hottest months being February and March before the rainy season and the coolest months being January or August along the coast; however, the average temperatures remain around 78 to 84 degrees Fahrenheit year-round (Boateng et al., 2019). This climate, along with Ghana's fertile soil that can support a wide range of crops and biodiversity, has lead to the country relying on agriculture to support its economy, specifically cocoa production. Cacao cultivation, which is then processed for cocoa beans to create chocolate, takes up "more than one-half of Ghana’s arable land and is a significant source of the country’s export revenue," (Boateng et al., 2019). Consequently, many Ghanaian farmers are involved in the cocoa industry and the global price and demand for cocoa determines the country's economic fate. Ghana is also has an above-average annual growth rate and a young population demographic, with about two-thirds of Ghanaians being under 30 (Boateng et al., 2019). The problems facing Ghana when trying to support its people is providing adequate healthcare, housing, and education for its growing population.
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Our target community
We have various communities that we hope to positively impact through this project, however our target community that has the greatest priority in terms of sustainable development is Ghanaian cocoa farming communities. We want to determine the best way that Sankofa Chocolate Co. can support farmers so that they may receive more income, benefits, and recognition for their work. We are exploring best practices, as well as international and local Ghana-based partnerships to achieve this.
According to Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), "[Ghana's] cocoa industry employs approximately 800,000 farm families spread over six of the ten regions of Ghana... [generating] about $2 billion in foreign exchange annually" (Cocoa). These six regions are in Western Ghana, with the capital city of Accra located in the white region surrounded by the regions of Central, Eastern, and Volta (see Figure 1). The Cocoa Barometer is a report produced by cocoa watchdog group VOICE Network. Its 2018 report found data from reports recent data from the International Cocoa Organization (see Figure 2) indicating that Ghana has remained one of largest producers of cocoa in the world, second only to its neighbor, Cote d'Ivoire (Cocoa Barometer). Despite this production value, cocoa farmers and producers receive devastatingly low income compared to their U.S. and European confectionary counterparts (Figure 3). The New Food Economy's 2018 article on cocoa production issues reported that data from Euromonitor and ICCO indicate that, although confectionary revenues have steadily risen over the years, production value of cocoa has remained stagnant (Sethi 2018). This demonstrates how valuable the chocolate confectionary market is compared to the cocoa production market that makes it possible, which is why we are trying to keep more of the cocoa in Ghana by introducing a Ghanaian-based confectionary company focused on supporting cocoa producers. Who are these farmers, though? They are mostly Western Ghanaians who are smallholder farmers, growing their crop on small plots, averaging less than 12 acres of land (International Cocoa Organization, 2012). In a 2017 article, Forbes reports that the average age of farmers in Ghana is 52, but with farmer's wages being so low, few young people want to continue cocoa farming (Sethi, 2017). A 2014 International Labor Rights Forum report found that most cocoa producers only make about $2 a day (International Labor Rights Forum). On top of that, most of these farmers have large families to support and hold the responsibility of solving village problems like poverty, as Sako Warren, the executive secretary of the World Cocoa Farmers Organization, points out (Sethi, 2017). These communities also face more than income issues when it comes to the cocoa industry. Child labor, government corruption, and deforestation of Ghana's tropical forests are also prevalent and interconnected issues facing these communities. An understanding of these and all other issues affecting Ghanaian cocoa farming communities is necessary to help identify which organizations our Ghanaian-based chocolate company should partner with to truly be sustainably- and ethically-conscious. |
Figure 1. Map of cocoa farming regions in Ghana.
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-cocoa-producing-regions-of-Ghana-in-green-with-survey-locations_fig1_299740071 Figure 2. Infographic of cocoa production (bright red) and consumers (dark red).
https://www.voicenetwork.eu/cocoa-barometer/. |
STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
stakeholder_analysis.pdf | |
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REFERENCES
Boateng, E. A., Davies, O., Fage, J. D., & Maier, D. J. (2019, October 7). Ghana. Retrieved December 13, 2019, from https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana.Cocoa Barometer. (2018). Retrieved November 9, 2019, from https://www.voicenetwork.eu/cocoa-barometer/.
Cocoa . (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2019, from https://cocobod.gh/home_section.php?sec=1.
International Labor Rights Forum. https://laborrights.org/sites/default/files/publications/Fairness%20gap_low_res.pdf
McKinley, J., Asare, R. A., Popp, J., Nalley, L. L., Dixon, B. L., & D'Haese, M. (2016). Managing Risk in Cocoa Production: Assessing the Potential fo Climate-Smart Crop Insurance in Ghana. Journal of International Agricultural Trade and Development , 10(1), 1–27. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299740071_Managing_Risk_in_Cocoa_Production_Assessing_the_Potential_of_Climate-Smart_Crop_Insurance_in_Ghana
International Cocoa Organization. (2012, March 27). Retrieved November 9, 2019, from https://www.icco.org/faq/57-cocoa-production/123-how-many-smallholders-are-there-worldwide-producing-cocoa-what-proportion-of-cocoa-worldwide-is-produced-by-smallholders.html.
Sethi, S. (2017, October 30). The Greatest Threat To Chocolate Isn't What You Think. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/simransethi/2017/10/30/the-greatest-threat-to-chocolate-isnt-what-you-think/#2a35551b371d.
Sethi, S. (2018, July 13). Cocoa has a poverty problem. You can help by eating more dark chocolate. Retrieved November 9, 2019, from https://newfoodeconomy.org/chocolate-farmers-ivory-coast-ghana/.
Cocoa . (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2019, from https://cocobod.gh/home_section.php?sec=1.
International Labor Rights Forum. https://laborrights.org/sites/default/files/publications/Fairness%20gap_low_res.pdf
McKinley, J., Asare, R. A., Popp, J., Nalley, L. L., Dixon, B. L., & D'Haese, M. (2016). Managing Risk in Cocoa Production: Assessing the Potential fo Climate-Smart Crop Insurance in Ghana. Journal of International Agricultural Trade and Development , 10(1), 1–27. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299740071_Managing_Risk_in_Cocoa_Production_Assessing_the_Potential_of_Climate-Smart_Crop_Insurance_in_Ghana
International Cocoa Organization. (2012, March 27). Retrieved November 9, 2019, from https://www.icco.org/faq/57-cocoa-production/123-how-many-smallholders-are-there-worldwide-producing-cocoa-what-proportion-of-cocoa-worldwide-is-produced-by-smallholders.html.
Sethi, S. (2017, October 30). The Greatest Threat To Chocolate Isn't What You Think. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/simransethi/2017/10/30/the-greatest-threat-to-chocolate-isnt-what-you-think/#2a35551b371d.
Sethi, S. (2018, July 13). Cocoa has a poverty problem. You can help by eating more dark chocolate. Retrieved November 9, 2019, from https://newfoodeconomy.org/chocolate-farmers-ivory-coast-ghana/.