including the lack of institutional and regulatory frameworks that could promote
effectively cotton to meet its rural development potential (MOFA 2013).
Jatropha was the most recent widely promoted industrial crop in Ghana. Jatropha
received substantial attention in mid-2000s as a biofuel feedstock crop, with the
National Jatropha Project Planning Committee pushing for the development of
1 Mha of jatropha plantations within a period of 5–6 years (by 2015) (Ahmed
et al. 2017). However due to a set national circumstances such as the discovery of
offshore oil deposits and the death of the early proponent of jatropha promotion, the
impetus for jatropha expansion passed from the government to the private sector, and
especially foreign interests (Ahmed et al. 2017). Many FDIs between the late 2000s
to mid-2010s targeted large expanses of land to produce jatropha for export, and
especially in the EU (Ahmed et al. 2017) (Chaps. 2 and 4 Vol. 1). This extensive
allocation of land essentially made jatropha production the main driver of the land
rush in Ghana (Schoneveld 2014). However, the sector has practically collapsed by
the mid-2010s due to a combination of (a) low jatropha productivity, (b) weak
business planning, (c) community conflicts, (d) institutional barriers and (e) civil
society opposition (Ahmed et al. 2017, 2019b).
The promotion of these different industrial crops in Ghana was driven by slightly
different factors. For example, cocoa production was largely driven by the availability of land in rural agro-ecosystems, and the need to generate foreign exchange to
boost national economic development and poverty alleviation (Kolavalli and Vigneri
2011). Cotton, on the other hand, was promoted for rural economic development
(especially targeting the arid and semi-arid regions of the country), as well as to
boost exports of merchandize exports as part of the export substitution development
strategy (Hussein et al. 2005; Baffes 2005). The drivers of jatropha production also
varied over time. Initially, national energy security was the main driver behind the
early promotion of jatropha, as implied by the strong focus on transport mandates of
the early biofuels projects (Energy Commission 2006; Ahmed et al. 2017). However,
by 2008, rural development through FDIs became the major driver of jatropha
expansion in Ghana, given its prospects to create jobs in plantations and income
for rural communities (Ahmed et al. 2017; Iddrisu and Bhattacharyya 2015; Boamah
2014).
The cocoa sector was shaped by the early establishment of the Ghana Cocoa
Marketing Company in 1947, which formed into the Ghana Cocoa Board that seeks
to promote the production, processing and marketing of high quality cocoa. Following the expansion and near collapse of the sector in the 1980s due to diseases, the
government initiated two rehabilitation programmes (Cocoa Rehabilitation
Programme I and II), which were unsuccessful (Amoah 1995; Kolavalli and Vigneri
2017). More importantly this period saw the implementation of the Economic
Recovery Programme, which promoted, among others, the liberalization of the
cocoa sector, the dissolution of all para-statal agencies and the adoption of a
rehabilitation drive. Currently, the cocoa sector is partially liberalized with the
Ghana Cocoa Board being responsible for cocoa exports and price-setting (Kolavalli
and Vigneri 2017). To further boost cocoa production, the Cocoa Sector Development Strategy I (CSDS I) was implemented in 1999. Among others CSDS I
3 Linking Industrial Crop Production and Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa:. . .
105
effectively cotton to meet its rural development potential (MOFA 2013).
Jatropha was the most recent widely promoted industrial crop in Ghana. Jatropha
received substantial attention in mid-2000s as a biofuel feedstock crop, with the
National Jatropha Project Planning Committee pushing for the development of
1 Mha of jatropha plantations within a period of 5–6 years (by 2015) (Ahmed
et al. 2017). However due to a set national circumstances such as the discovery of
offshore oil deposits and the death of the early proponent of jatropha promotion, the
impetus for jatropha expansion passed from the government to the private sector, and
especially foreign interests (Ahmed et al. 2017). Many FDIs between the late 2000s
to mid-2010s targeted large expanses of land to produce jatropha for export, and
especially in the EU (Ahmed et al. 2017) (Chaps. 2 and 4 Vol. 1). This extensive
allocation of land essentially made jatropha production the main driver of the land
rush in Ghana (Schoneveld 2014). However, the sector has practically collapsed by
the mid-2010s due to a combination of (a) low jatropha productivity, (b) weak
business planning, (c) community conflicts, (d) institutional barriers and (e) civil
society opposition (Ahmed et al. 2017, 2019b).
The promotion of these different industrial crops in Ghana was driven by slightly
different factors. For example, cocoa production was largely driven by the availability of land in rural agro-ecosystems, and the need to generate foreign exchange to
boost national economic development and poverty alleviation (Kolavalli and Vigneri
2011). Cotton, on the other hand, was promoted for rural economic development
(especially targeting the arid and semi-arid regions of the country), as well as to
boost exports of merchandize exports as part of the export substitution development
strategy (Hussein et al. 2005; Baffes 2005). The drivers of jatropha production also
varied over time. Initially, national energy security was the main driver behind the
early promotion of jatropha, as implied by the strong focus on transport mandates of
the early biofuels projects (Energy Commission 2006; Ahmed et al. 2017). However,
by 2008, rural development through FDIs became the major driver of jatropha
expansion in Ghana, given its prospects to create jobs in plantations and income
for rural communities (Ahmed et al. 2017; Iddrisu and Bhattacharyya 2015; Boamah
2014).
The cocoa sector was shaped by the early establishment of the Ghana Cocoa
Marketing Company in 1947, which formed into the Ghana Cocoa Board that seeks
to promote the production, processing and marketing of high quality cocoa. Following the expansion and near collapse of the sector in the 1980s due to diseases, the
government initiated two rehabilitation programmes (Cocoa Rehabilitation
Programme I and II), which were unsuccessful (Amoah 1995; Kolavalli and Vigneri
2017). More importantly this period saw the implementation of the Economic
Recovery Programme, which promoted, among others, the liberalization of the
cocoa sector, the dissolution of all para-statal agencies and the adoption of a
rehabilitation drive. Currently, the cocoa sector is partially liberalized with the
Ghana Cocoa Board being responsible for cocoa exports and price-setting (Kolavalli
and Vigneri 2017). To further boost cocoa production, the Cocoa Sector Development Strategy I (CSDS I) was implemented in 1999. Among others CSDS I
3 Linking Industrial Crop Production and Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa:. . .
105