permitted Licensed Buying Companies to export cocoa, which was however ignored
by the government at that time (Kolavalli and Vigneri 2017). Policy revisions led to
the CSDS II, which deals with emerging issues affecting cocoa production such as
child labour, certification and climate change. CSDS II ensures consistency with the
national and international development agenda. Currently, multiple government-led
initiatives through the Productivity Enhancement Programmes (PEPs) aim to double
yields, from the current average of 450 kg/ha to 1000 kg/ha by 2027. The PEPs
encapsulate a series of programmes such as the Farm Rehabilitation Programme, the
Diseases and Pest Control Programme, the Soil Fertility Management through High
Technology Programme, the Irrigation of Cocoa Farms Programme and the Artificial
Pollination Programme among others (MoFA 2018). In addition, there are multiple
efforts to promote value addition and youth employment in the cocoa sector within
the broader framework of the government-led initiative “Investing for Jobs”
(MoFA 2018).
The cotton sector has undergone major policy changes throughout the past
decades. The first major action was the establishment of the Cotton Development
Board (CDB) in 1968, a para-statal agency tasked to oversee the cotton sector. By
the mid-1980s, the national government faced strong pressure from the World Bank
to reform the sector, mostly as part of the Structural Adjustment Programmes of the
1980s (Peltzer and Röttger 2013). In the mid-1980s, the cotton sector was
deregulated, and the CDB was transformed into the Ghana Cotton Company Limited
(GCCL), with the government retaining 30% of the shares. Over the next decade,
there was a proliferation of private companies participating in the cotton industry,
and in 1995 the government sold its 30% share of the GCCL. At around that period
free agricultural input supply to cotton smallholders changed into input credit, and a
price-setting mechanism was put in place. In 1997–1998, the Cotton Development
Project 1 (CDP-1) was launched, but there were unprecedented malpractices such as
poaching of farmers and adulteration of product. In the early 2000s, the financing of
cotton companies ceased due to their high accumulated debts, with several companies exiting the cotton sector. In 2000–2002, MOFA introduced a zoning policy to
address malpractices in the sector, and in 2004 the African Development Bank took
control of the GCCL through a debt-equity swap. Shortly after that point the GCCL
was liquidated and ceased its operation, but in 2010–2011 there was an effort to
revive the sector through the “White Gold” campaign. The last major policy
initiative was the formal inauguration of the board of Cotton Development Authority
in 2016 to carefully examine the challenges of the sector.
The jatropha sector received a relatively short, but intense policy interest in
Ghana that coincided with the expansion of the bioenergy sector. The starting
point was the 2005 draft biofuel policy and the 2006 Strategic National Energy
Plan, which were anchored on energy security concerns and established biofuel
blending mandates for the transport sector. Subsequently, rural development priorities started dominating the sector, with the 2007–2008 Biofuel Implementation
Group and the National Jatropha Planning Committee seeking to establish 1 Mha
of jatropha plantations in 53 districts. Subsequent relevant policies have included the
2010 bioenergy policy (which included revised blending mandates) and the 2011
106
M. P. Jarzebski et al.
by the government at that time (Kolavalli and Vigneri 2017). Policy revisions led to
the CSDS II, which deals with emerging issues affecting cocoa production such as
child labour, certification and climate change. CSDS II ensures consistency with the
national and international development agenda. Currently, multiple government-led
initiatives through the Productivity Enhancement Programmes (PEPs) aim to double
yields, from the current average of 450 kg/ha to 1000 kg/ha by 2027. The PEPs
encapsulate a series of programmes such as the Farm Rehabilitation Programme, the
Diseases and Pest Control Programme, the Soil Fertility Management through High
Technology Programme, the Irrigation of Cocoa Farms Programme and the Artificial
Pollination Programme among others (MoFA 2018). In addition, there are multiple
efforts to promote value addition and youth employment in the cocoa sector within
the broader framework of the government-led initiative “Investing for Jobs”
(MoFA 2018).
The cotton sector has undergone major policy changes throughout the past
decades. The first major action was the establishment of the Cotton Development
Board (CDB) in 1968, a para-statal agency tasked to oversee the cotton sector. By
the mid-1980s, the national government faced strong pressure from the World Bank
to reform the sector, mostly as part of the Structural Adjustment Programmes of the
1980s (Peltzer and Röttger 2013). In the mid-1980s, the cotton sector was
deregulated, and the CDB was transformed into the Ghana Cotton Company Limited
(GCCL), with the government retaining 30% of the shares. Over the next decade,
there was a proliferation of private companies participating in the cotton industry,
and in 1995 the government sold its 30% share of the GCCL. At around that period
free agricultural input supply to cotton smallholders changed into input credit, and a
price-setting mechanism was put in place. In 1997–1998, the Cotton Development
Project 1 (CDP-1) was launched, but there were unprecedented malpractices such as
poaching of farmers and adulteration of product. In the early 2000s, the financing of
cotton companies ceased due to their high accumulated debts, with several companies exiting the cotton sector. In 2000–2002, MOFA introduced a zoning policy to
address malpractices in the sector, and in 2004 the African Development Bank took
control of the GCCL through a debt-equity swap. Shortly after that point the GCCL
was liquidated and ceased its operation, but in 2010–2011 there was an effort to
revive the sector through the “White Gold” campaign. The last major policy
initiative was the formal inauguration of the board of Cotton Development Authority
in 2016 to carefully examine the challenges of the sector.
The jatropha sector received a relatively short, but intense policy interest in
Ghana that coincided with the expansion of the bioenergy sector. The starting
point was the 2005 draft biofuel policy and the 2006 Strategic National Energy
Plan, which were anchored on energy security concerns and established biofuel
blending mandates for the transport sector. Subsequently, rural development priorities started dominating the sector, with the 2007–2008 Biofuel Implementation
Group and the National Jatropha Planning Committee seeking to establish 1 Mha
of jatropha plantations in 53 districts. Subsequent relevant policies have included the
2010 bioenergy policy (which included revised blending mandates) and the 2011
106
M. P. Jarzebski et al.