Challenges within Ghana cocoa sector go beyond pricing mechanism – IMF

The IMF is advising Ghana to consider other essentials and not just the pricing mechanism in building a strong cocoa sector.

The IMF Resident Representative to Ghana, Dr. Albert Touna, made this statement at the launch of IMANI’s report within the cocoa sector.

According to Touna, although price is a great factor to consider in making the sector robust, there is the need to pay critical attention to issues of unfamiliarity of modern methods of farming, good transport system amongst others.

These disruptions in the cocoa production sector contribute significantly to reduce productivity, he added.

He believes requesting for higher premiums on cocoa beans with less attention on ways of improving productivity is not a just cause.

Vice president of Imani, Kofi Bentil, on his part noted that although the cocoa sector is plagued with a lot of challenges, the pricing mechanism should not be overlooked since it is a huge motivator for farmers.

Imani has released a report on revenue management and producer pricing mechanism within Ghana’s cocoa sector.

The report aims to explore the revenue management and producer pricing mechanism within Ghana’s cocoa sector.

Responses from the study provide a strong basis for actions that should involve all stakeholders across the value chain with the intention of addressing the weaknesses in the sector.

The results suggest that the total revenue received by the sector (i.e. the Gross Free on Board (FOB)) is limited (since it is predetermined), primarily driven by developments which the country has little influence over.

Below is the full report.

Source: Ghanaweb.com