Impact Assessment of the Cocoa Rehabilitation Project on Cocoa Exports in Ghana

Abstract

Cocoa export is the biggest source of Ghana's core revenue from agriculture. This study employs the cointegration approach to measure the impact of the factors that influenced cocoa export performance in Ghana after the cocoa rehabilitation project was introduced into the cocoa sector from 1988 to 1993 by analyzing relevant time series data from 1988 to 2018. The results of the analyses show that all the variables used in the study do not substantially influence cocoa exports in the long run. The study concludes that even though the cocoa rehabilitation project may have had a lasting impact on the performance of the cocoa sector in recent years; resulting in increments in foreign exchange revenue, production and exports, the project to a larger extent has failed to adequately cater for all of the needs of the most important stakeholder of the cash crop-the farmer. The study recommends that Government should restructure and empower the Ghana Cocoa Board through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to ensure proper supervision and accountability in the management of cocoa sector reforms.