Sustainable Production and Consumption 29 (2022) 341–356
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Sustainable Production and Consumption
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/spc
Energy and water mapping of the cocoa value chain in Ghana
Edward A. Awafo a,∗, Prosper Achaw Owusu a,b
a
b
Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Energy and Natural Resources, P.O. Box 214, Sunyani, Ghana
The Brew Hammond Energy Center, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, PMB, Kumasi, Ghana
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 24 May 2021
Revised 26 October 2021
Accepted 28 October 2021
Available online 31 October 2021
Editor: Prof. Adisa Azapagic
Keywords:
Cocoa production
Cocoa value chain
Water mapping
Energy mapping
Ghana
a b s t r a c t
The cocoa sub-sector in Ghana is an economically active sector, serving as a major export earner for the
country and contributing up to 7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The cocoa value chain in Ghana
includes pre-harvest, post-harvest and processing stages, which consist of activities such as seed production, nursery, replanting, cultivation, harvesting, fermentation, drying, scaling and sale, certification and
bulking, export or processing. Along the entire chain for all these stages is the intensive use of water and
energy, although intensities vary for the different stages. An energy and water mapping was therefore
conducted to analyse the energy and water usage along each value chain activity. The studies indicate
that mainly rainwater and a little stream and dugout water are used in the pre-harvest stage for nursery
activities. The main energy used here is direct sunlight for drying the cocoa beans, manpower used on
the farm and about 10% of total petrol and diesel usage along the entire value chain used for transportation during field visits and in tractors for land preparation. During the post-harvest stage, 75% of fossil
fuel is used in vehicles and trucks for transportation. The processing stage of the value chain is where the
bulk of energy is used, largely from the national grid and about 15% diesel/petrol used in small backup
generators and for running processing machineries and equipment. Energy and water estimation and requirements used along each stage in the value chain was conducted. The processing companies, undertaking activities in the processing stage, pay commercial tariffs for water usage (approximately US$1.82 per
10 0 0 litres) and US$0.14 per kWh of electricity usage. The studies showed that besides these high tariffs,
which affect production and profits, efficiency levels are very low. The paper concludes that despite the
numerous challenges with high cost of production and low efficiencies, there are many opportunities and
strengths that can be harnessed to bring about innovation, efficiency and increased productivity along
the value chain of cocoa in Ghana. Key amongst these are; collaborating with the vibrant private and
public sectors involved in the value chain; harnessing the abundant and high solar radiation to improve
drying activities; using the existing regulatory and institutional frameworks to introduce innovative initiatives in the value chain, for example converting the large quantities of organic waste generated from
cocoa products production to produce bio-energy; introducing energy efficiencies measures, etc. These,
amongst many others, are recommended as opportunities that can be harnessed, together with the enabling environment in the country, to add value to the cocoa sector.
© 2021 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
In Ghana, cocoa is the most important export crop. It is reported that the crop contributes about 30% of the country’s total export earnings. This contributed to about 8% of Ghana’s
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as at 2010 (Asante-Poku and Angelucci, 2013). Ghana and Cote d’Iovire are the two leading producers of cocoa in the world (Marius Wessel and Quist-Wessel, 2015).
∗
Corresponding author at: University of Energy and Natural Resources, Box 214,
Sunyani, Bono Region, Ghana.
E-mail address: edward.awafo@uenr.edu.gh (E.A. Awafo).
According to Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Ghana is projected to
produce approximately 90 0,0 0 0 tonnes of cocoa in the 2020/2021
crop season. This represents about 5% increase of the quantity projected for the 2019/2020 crop season. Previous studies
(Asamoah and Annan, 2012) revealed that smallholder farmers
contribute approximately 86% of the total global production of cocoa beans. In Ghana, small-scale production of cocoa is not more
than four hectares (4 ha) per farmer, and it is the major source of
income for many households (Roldan et al., 2013).
In a study by Quarmine et al. (2012), where they examined institutional (i.e. off-season financial shortages, information asymmetry and inadequate knowledge) and biological (i.e. poor farm-
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2021.10.027
2352-5509/© 2021 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
E.A. Awafo and P.A. Owusu
Sustainable Production and Consumption 29 (2022) 341–356
ing practices and poor processing) factors that affect the quality
of cocoa beans in Ghana, it was concluded that the country exports only premium quality cocoa beans to the international markets. This reputation is as a result of the measures put in place by
COCOBOD. COCOBOD is a marketing board that controls the production and marketing of cocoa and some other crops in the country. COCOBOD, through its sub-divisions provides inputs and delivers products to farmers, buyers and traders. The Board is also responsible for the registration of traders, and Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs). Over the years, COCOBOD has worked to keep up
premium prices but a low producer price is still a major problem in the country. This problem has been a major talking point
amongst organizations empowered to provide solutions to help alleviate poverty in rural communities.
In the agricultural sector, value chain analysis is considered to
be one way of improving production and farmers’ income. Previous works conducted on value chain analyses have focused mainly
on linkages between chain actors. These analyses often neglect water and energy estimation or requirements along each value chain
activity. Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to analyse the cocoa value chain in Ghana with particular emphasis on water and
energy usage/requirement along each step of the value chain.
The following section deals with literature review, which provides information on the broader cocoa sector and description of
the main activities along the cocoa value chain in Ghana as well
as sustainable production and consumption of cocoa. The literature
review continues with a description of the frame conditions, i.e.
energy and water availability and costs of the cocoa value chain in
Ghana. Field studies, including interviews and focus group discussions were employed as the methodology for this study, and this
is elaborated. Next is the results and discussion section. This provides the results of the survey and analysis and detailed discussions that address issues around untapped energy and water resources and their potential to improve efficiency and productivity
along the value chain is also presented. As part of the discussions,
the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis of energy and water aspects of the cocoa value chain and the
collaborators and stakeholders is conducted. The concluding parts
contain brief summary of the key findings and make proposals for
potential entry points for incorporating renewable energy and energy efficiency measures in the value chain. It also makes recommendations for measures and interventions to improve water availability along the value chain and provides suggestions for further
research and policy improvement.
income of cocoa farmers – although projected to be US$2.51/day
–is currently only US$0.85/day (Voice Network, 2020).
Cocoa is a strong export commodity for Ghana and it is a
backbone for the Ghanaian economy. The cocoa sub-sector alone
contributes 7–8% of the country’s GDP (Asante-Poku and Angelucci, 2013; Goleman et al., 2019; Peprah, 2019). Cote d’Ivoire
produces two million tonnes of cocoa per year, equivalent to more
than 40% of the world’s market (Esnault, 2021). Cocoa production
in Ghana is by smallholder farmers in the middle and southern
belts of the country.
The total cocoa production in Ghana, covering a planted area of
about 1.63 million hectares and a yield of 400 kg/ha, has been decreasing for the last three cocoa years (Awuni, 2018). In 2018/2019,
the total production was estimated at 90 0,0 0 0 tonnes, which was a
decrease from 905,0 0 0 tonnes in 2017/2018 and 969,510.69 tonnes
in 2016/2017. Mainly the large-scale multinational companies processed about 25% of this production in the country in 2016/2017.
The remaining, constituting about 18.7% of the global cocoa supply
was exported (Awuni, 2018).
2.2. Sustainable production and consumption of cocoa
The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) adopted and defined sustainable cocoa production as a sustainable development
“that meets the needs of today without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their needs.” The ICCO encourages its
individual member states to work towards a cocoa economy that is
economically viable, environmentally benign and socially acceptable (Barrientos et al., 2008). Achieving this would not come easily
in Ghana. This is because there are significant challenges associated with every activity in the value chain of cocoa production in
the country.
In the past years, the growing demand for cocoa has increased
and production barely keeps pace. Although Ghana’s cocoa sector has progressively developed over the years, cocoa producers
still face significant challenges. Cocoa production has been kept up
through expansion rather than through productivity and land recovery. The hidden costs of unsustainable production of cocoa have
gradually become a global issue (Fattibene, 2020). These costs are
predominantly evident in the two major cocoa-producing countries
(i.e. Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana), where the increasing rate of illegal
farming practices has led not only to deforestation, but also child
labour and exploitation. Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso are
estimated to have lost about 70% of their natural forest cover in
the past three decades (Fattibene, 2020).
The average age of cocoa farmers in Ghana is more than 50
years and it is yet uncertain who will be the new generation of
cocoa farmers (Laven and Boomsma, 2012). There is a fear that cocoa production is currently not a profitable business, leading to the
younger generation in cocoa growing areas abandoning the cocoa
sector. Farmers are known to be paid “farm gate price”, which is
usually about 70% of the global market price. World price fluctuations have serious consequences on cocoa farmers. For example,
the 13% losses in world market price due to the COVID-19 pandemic between October 2019 and October 2020 caused huge losses
to small-scale cocoa farmers (Fattibene, 2020). It is no coincident
that cocoa production is not attractive and lucrative to the younger
generation.
Also, ageing cocoa trees coupled with competition from rubber plantation and illegal mining threaten the sustainable production of cocoa. It is a common practice now for small-scale cocoa
farmers to allow illegal miners to use their lands in exchange for
money. All these are evidences that sustainable production techniques are required urgently.
The strong rise of consumer awareness of the environmental
injustice and socio-economic conditions of cocoa production has
2. Literature review
A broader understanding of the cocoa sector, sustainable production of cocoa approaches and key activities and actors of the
cocoa value chain in Ghana is required to be able to conduct a
thorough and proper mapping of energy and water along the value
chain. These aspects are reviewed in this section.
2.1. The cocoa sector in Ghana
The total land area of Ghana is 238,535 km2 , with 16 administrative regions. Approximately 136,0 0 0 km2 , representing 57%, is
classified as agricultural land. It is estimated that Ghana has 58%
of its agricultural land area as cultivated land and the remaining
42% as uncultivated land (Aboagye et al., 2016).
The 2018 barometer report on cocoa work estimates that only
2.1 million youth are engaged in the cocoa sector in Ghana and
Cote d’Ivoire. Two million Ghanaians are involved in cocoa farming in Ghana; representing 6% of the entire population and about
80 0,0 0 0 households (Fountain and Huetz-Adams, 2018). The living
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Sustainable Production and Consumption 29 (2022) 341–356
underpinned a rapid increase in Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) initiatives amongst confectionery manufacturers and the entire value chain stakeholders. On one hand, larger brand names
fear that their reputations are at risk if the media persist on criticising their poor practices. On the other hand, their ignorance on
sustainability is at their own peril and the eventual adverse effects
in supply in the years ahead.
For example, the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) – IDH –
The Sustainable Trade Initiative, and the Prince of Wales International Sustainability Unit (ISU), partnered the governments of Côte
d’Ivoire and Ghana to create the Cocoa and Forests Institute (CFI)
with the aim of achieving two interdependent goals: (1) reducing
deforestation while (2) adopting better technologies to “grow more
cocoa on less land”; which will ensure environmental sustainability (Drew and Boal, 2019).
Also, other private organizations such as Unilever, Cargill and
Mondelez International are making concerted efforts to supplement the government’s efforts in the cocoa industry. Unilever
Ghana intends to train about 12,0 0 0 cocoa farmers in good agricultural practices by the year 2022. Cargill aims to map all of its farmers (i.e. more than 82,0 0 0 farms) in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire by the
same date. Mondelez International also intends to promote agroforestry and income diversification by distributing about 20 0,0 0 0
multipurpose trees. It is believed that a combination of these will
help improve the cocoa sector in Ghana (Drew and Boal, 2019).
Finally, the sustainable production of cocoa in Ghana needs a
stronger fight against child rights violations. There is therefore the
need to address fundamental causes, including structural poverty,
and lack of schools. To address this, Cargill is investing in building
new schools in cocoa growing areas in Ghana. Also, World Cocoa
Foundation (WCF) in the past has constructed schools, supported
out of school youth and organized literacy classes in cocoa growing
communities (World Cocoa Foundation, 2015).
According to the ICCO, “sustainable cocoa consumption complements sustainable cocoa production, as it aims to secure a
steady increase in cocoa and chocolate consumption around the
world, mirroring increases in sustainable cocoa production”. Therefore, strategies for sustainable consumption of cocoa should meet
changing trends and expectations of future consumers and emerging markets as well as focus on promoting consumption of new
and innovative cocoa-related products such as beverages, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, etc.
been a key contributor to Ghana’s economic development; currently about 85% of the national population has access to electricity (Energy Commission, 2020). The average end user electricity tariff was US$0.13 per kWh (Energy Commission, 2018). However, electricity tariffs with effect from 1st October 2019 increased
by 5.94% bringing it to a current tariff of US$0.14 (PURC, 2019).
In the cocoa sector, electricity, fossil fuel and solar are utilized
through various stages. The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL)
produces most of the potable water in Ghana, and the tariffs for
this water regulated by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission
(PURC). However, main sources of water used in the cocoa value
chain in Ghana are rain, well, boreholes, streams and dams.
2.3. Cocoa value chain in Ghana
2.4.2. Fossil fuels
Fossil fuels utilized along the cocoa value chain include natural
gas, diesel and/or petrol for equipment and machineries consumption as well as backup generators and vehicles for transportation.
Boilers and roasters utilize fossil fuel in the processing stage while
transport systems are used throughout the chain. In producing and
processing 1 kg of cocoa beans about 0.66 kWh of diesel is required (Ntiamoah and Afrane, 2008).
2.4. Energy and water availability and costs
The main sources of energy used along the cocoa value chain
activities in Ghana come from the national grid, fossil fuel and solar. Analysis of these sources, including water, and their costs of
usage are provided in the following subsections.
2.4.1. Grid electricity
Electricity use in Ghana is by grid connection supplied to various utilization points. Along the value chain of cocoa in Ghana,
there is no artisanal processing, so electricity is mainly utilized
by the industrial scale companies, which is based on commercial tariffs and bulk electricity tariff. The tariff is dependant on
the quantity used within a particular tariff range, which is determined by the PURC per kWh of consumption (PURC, 2018). It is
estimated that 0.55 kWh of electricity from the grid is utilized
in production and processing of 1 kg of cocoa beans in Ghana
(Ogunsina et al., 2017). This translates to US$0.08/kg at the prevailing tariff. This is based on the amount of energy consumed plus a
fixed monthly service charge (an average of US$7.01 per month)
and a demand charge based on the power factor of the company’s
facility (an average of US$9.83/kVA/month). As available electricity
is supplied by distribution companies in Ghana, namely Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Northern Electricity Distribution
Company (NEDCo), the tariff rates are charged based on different
categories the consumer may fall under; first, second, third and
fourth schedule, determined by the PURC (PURC, 2018).
The value chain of cocoa in Ghana is not entirely different from
the global cocoa value chain. It includes Seed production, Nursery, Replanting, Cultivation, Harvesting, Fermentation, Drying, Scaling and Sale, Certification and Bulking, and Export or Processing.
Along the entire chain is the use of water and energy at varying
intensities. For water, much more of it is used at the production
stage and more energy at the processing stage. For instance, the
nursing of cocoa seeds requires close to 25% of the total water requirement for the value chain activities, and this is usually surface
water, constituting the blue water footprint (Naranjo-Merino et al.,
2017). The cultivation of cocoa on the farm uses rainwater, which
constitutes the green water footprint. Grey water (i.e. waste/used
water) footprint occurs at some points of the chain when there is
an innovation in the use of water and when there is the need to
find an alternative.
Until cocoa reaches the processing stage, most of the energy
usage is manpower and passive use of solar energy for drying
and re-drying purposes. However, new trends make use of active
solar for irrigation, drying and re-drying. Energy sources used in
Ghana include electricity, fossil fuel (diesel/petrol, gas) and energy
from renewables (solar, biofuels and wind). Electricity access has
2.4.3. Solar energy
Solar energy use in Ghana’s cocoa value chain is traditionally for drying cocoa beans. Cocoa Health and Extension Division
(CHED), a unit under Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), has piloted
a solar irrigation project in the country. This piloted facility targets
farmers and COCOBOD seed production sites. The first was completed and handed over to a 30-acre farmer in June 2019. The use
of the facility can greatly increase cocoa production annually since
the farmer will not have to depend on only the rains. Other solar interventions by the Ministry of Energy, GIZ, COCOBOD, etc. include the supply and distribution of solar home systems, and street
lights to improve on electricity access for farmers who mainly live
in remote off-gird locations within the country.
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2.4.4. Water
Available water is rainfall (green water), surface and underground water (blue water) and used water (grey water). The Ghana
Water Company Limited (GWCL), mechanized boreholes by processing companies and flowing rivers like streams, constitute the
surface and underground water (blue water) used for activities in
the cocoa value chain (VC). For GWCL, tariffs are based on litres
of consumption and are charged at US$1.50/10 0 0 litres for commercial use and US$1.82/10 0 0 litres for industrial use (PURC, 2019).
Growing/production of cocoa in the cocoa growing areas of Ghana
is mostly rain fed agriculture while processing is usually done
with blue water sources, which are metered at the point of supply to the processing company. About 565 litres of this water is
utilized in the production and processing of 1 kg of cocoa beans
(Ntiamoah and Afrane, 2008). The component that is paid for is
approximately 5%, constituting the charge of water for processing
and reliance on blue water for spraying and watering in the absence of rain or stream water.
The postharvest processing of cocoa pods into cocoa beans
generates large quantities of bio-waste, which consists of pod
husk, pulp, and bean shell (Barisic, et al., 2020). According to
International Cocoa Organization (2018), the global generation of
cocoa waste is estimated at 16 million metric tonnes per year.
These bio-wastes can be used to power gasifier plants, biogas electricity plants and other waste-to-energy systems. This will mean
that, such systems could be readily off-taken by the grid-operators
(RENEWABLE ENERGY ACT 2011 (ACT 832)). Similar to the netmetering scheme, there are challenges with modalities for implementation of this system and the rates to apply except only a few
that are operating, namely; Safisana (100 kW from organic waste);
BXC (20 MW from solar); VRA (2.5 MW from solar); Cross boundary (400 kW from solar) and Meinergy (20 MW from solar). There
are however, plans to replace feed-in-tariff (FiT) system with auctioning of RE contracts as a way of getting rates that are competitive for power generation.
Quite apart from that, with a 10% renewable energy target,
power distributors are mandated by the RE bill to purchase a percentage of their power from renewable energy known as Renewable Energy Purchase Obligation. This gives ready market to any
renewable energy intervention by cocoa processing companies.
Most cocoa farmers live in off-grid communities where there
is huge waste generation from de-husking cocoa pods, aggregating into an annual generation of 80 0,0 0 0 metric tonnes tnes of cocoa bean waste (Unwin, 2019). Many feasibility studies have been
conducted in the country, which quantifies the volumes of these
wastes produced as well as their energy potential, but none of
these have been developed into (commercial) projects yet. There
is abundant cocoa waste readily available and the primary beneficiaries are the farmers in the cocoa value chain, which makes it a
good incentive to implement these studies as projects.
In addition to the existing policies and enabling environment that encourage generation of energy from the bio-waste,
there are also well established policies on pricing, which serve
as additional incentives to farmers. In a study conducted by
Quarmine et al. (2012) to examine institutional factors that serve
as incentives for cocoa production in Ghana, it was found that although there are some challenges with information asymmetry between farmers and the other actors in the value chain, the farmers
are generally satisfied with COCOBOD’s price policy. The price policy is such that farmers are paid specified amounts per bag based
on the world market prices, they are insured against world price
volatility by selling cocoa in forward markets and windfalls paid to
them as bonuses.
2.5. Professional skills and capacity development with regards to
renewable energy applications
Renewable energy (RE) applications and development associated with the cocoa value chain in Ghana covers the areas of clean
energy programs, energy use and the environment (EPA, 2018).
Specifically on RE, training and capacity building interventions
have been provided for installers and service providers, with focus on the use of solar home systems, repair and maintenance of
streetlights, use of bio-waste for bioenergy generation and training in the use of solar irrigation systems. These interventions have
raised awareness and skills on the use of bioenergy, increased
share of RE and decreased cost of energy. The installers usually
are people with basic engineering knowledge in the relevant area.
Beyond RE applications, there have been other capacity building
programmes provided by different entities. According to Cocoalife
Ghana, about 87,413 community members and farmers have been
trained on good environmental practices for climate change variability reduction (Mondelēz International, 2019). In 2016, CocoaAction also trained 69,253 farmers in ‘no burning of forest’, which
is an action towards greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction
(Olam Cocoa, 2017).
2.6. Regulatory framework and incentives for renewable energy
applications and energy efficiency (EE) measures
The RE ACT (ACT 832) is a base for most developments in the
RE subsector in the country. It supports investments and use of renewables such as biomass and solar as in the case of the cocoa
sector. RE interventions exist to support and promote renewable
energy interventions. Amongst them are: mini-grid Electrification
Policy (2016), The National Energy Policy (2010), The National Energy Development Strategy (2010), Building Strategic National Energy Plan (2006), ECOWAS white paper on access to energy services (2006), National Renewable Energy Strategy (2003), Bioenergy Policy Document, the Renewable Energy Master Plan (REMP,
2019) and the Country Action Plan for Sustainable Energy for All
(SE4All). With these interventions, access to sustainable electricity
supply has increased, improving the quality of farmers’ livelihood
and making electricity more available and affordable for use by the
processing companies. Additional impact of these policies and legislations is that they serve as enabling environment and incentives
for investments in the cocoa sector. For example, Black Star Energy, a private company is generating commercial off-grid electricity for inhabitants at Kofihwikrom a cocoa farming community in
the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
2.7. Regulatory framework and incentives for water usage
The water use regulation in Ghana mandates all persons that
use blue water for various purposes including agriculture to first
obtain permit (Government of Ghana, 2007). When a number of
applications are tendered, priority is given based on the application that fulfils the goals of national socio-economic development.
The use of blue water for agriculture is exempted from using permit in the case where the practice is subsistence. It follows, therefore, that cocoa farmers who are all considered commercial farmers, need permit to use blue water in their cocoa cultivation and
will have to pay permitting fees as well as commercial tariffs.
It is Ghana Government’s policy to support micro-irrigation and
‘valley bottom irrigation scheme’ in rural communities. This policy can augment government’s flagship program, “one village-onedam”. The flagship programme seeks to set up dams necessarily for
agricultural purposes, in every farming community in Ghana: 570
sites were earmarked in 2017 for the construction and rehabilitation of small dams and dugouts, but only 20% have been completed
so far.
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The current strict regulation requiring that commercial cocoa
farmers obtain permit and pay commercial tariffs for using blue
water for activities along the value chain should be relaxed in order to ease bureaucracies and reduce the already high cost of production in the cocoa sector.
Data on input supply activities, such as seed production and supply, pesticide/fertilizer delivery, sale of farm inputs, etc. usually
done by COCOBOD and its subsidiaries was collected in Sunyani
in the Bono Region. Processing factories are located in Ashanti and
Greater Regions and that is where the data related to processing
activities was collected.
2.8. Financing options for improved efficiency in energy and water
usage in the cocoa sector
3.2. Data collection methods
The RE Fund established under the RE ACT (ACT 832) is targeted
at providing funding to support development of renewable energy
projects in Ghana. However, nothing or little has been achieved as
regards to this provision due to unavailability of funds. Some of
the major cocoa processing companies have RE systems installed
at their facilities funded by themselves, albeit for less intensive
purposes. For example, Cargill has installed a 656 kWp solar plant
for lighting at their facility and carport, but still relies on the national grid and back-up micro diesel/petrol generator systems for
processing operations. This facility is to reduce their monthly bills
on electricity and to reduce their carbon footprints. A few commercial banks exist, that are willing to finance RE uptake, but their interest rates are very high and therefore not competitive. The same
situation exists for water.
There are other external donors and technical supports for RE
implementation in Ghana, and by extension will be of benefit to
the cocoa communities and sector. For example, in June 2019,
Ghana received EUR 30 million from French Development Agency
(AFD) and EUR 2 million from the European Union (EU) to support
local banks and other key stakeholders towards the development
of Energy Efficiency (EE) and Renewable Energy (RE) projects under
the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Energy Finance programme (SUNREF) in Ghana. The main focus of this is to provide
credit lines with the banks, technical assistance and an additional
investment grant by the EU of EUR 2.4 million, to provide more
incentives to green investments. There is currently an agreement
entered between the Government of Ghana and African Development Bank (AfDB), waiting for ratification in Parliament. This support is to inject US$ 600 million into the cocoa sector to support
the cocoa VC, in bid to increase yield, increase local processing and
consumption of final products.
A novel approach that was observed during this study was the
farmers borrowing amongst themselves at no interest. Beside this,
they also practice communal farming (that is, the farmers form a
group where that group works on different individual farms on
communal basis). This helps them drastically reduce cost of labour.
Purposive sampling was used to select; the five farming communities in the Ahafo Region where cocoa farming is more vibrant, Sunyani, which used to be the regional capital for both Bono
and Ahafo Regions and that is where COCOBOD has its offices with
most of its subsidiaries, and Tema and Kumasi which are the major
cities where most of the cocoa processing companies operate from.
Mixed methods were used to collect the data. Qualitative observations throughout the fieldwork provided both general context
and specific insights into existing activities and water and energy
usage along the value chain. Key activities observed in the farming
communities included transplanting of cocoa seedlings, the maintenance of a cocoa farm, chemicals applications, harvesting, fermentation, drying and communication between buying companies
and farmers. There were Licensed and Produce Buying Companies
(LBCs and PBCs) found stationed and active in the communities.
These were engaged in buying cocoa beans from the farmers, further drying of the cocoa beans, weighing and bagging and carting to the processing companies or points of export. At COCOBOD, some activities observed include planting of coco beans in
the nursery, nursery care, the selling of cocoa seedlings and other
farm inputs to farmers.
In the farming communities, a total of 152 farmers were interviewed. The questions focused on getting their responses on key
issues like size of their farms, activities in the value chain they undertake, source(s) of their farms inputs and forms of support they
receive, sources of energy and water for their operations, costs for
using energy and water for each of their activities in the value
chain, and innovations that they may know, which can improve
yields and productivity. For COCOBOD and the technical institutions, the focus was to understand the kind of technical support
they provide to the farmers and processing companies. It was also
meant to understand their energy and water usage, and how much,
in any value chain activities that they provide support with or involved in. Interviews with the processing companies, four in all,
was focused on eliciting information on the kind of activities in
the value chain that they undertake, stakeholders they work with,
how much and type of energy and water they use for each of the
value chain activities. The interview was also used to get information on the kind of cocoa products they produce, quantities and
marketing.
The questionnaires used for the survey and data collection with
the farmers, COCOBOD and the processing companies are included
as supplementary materials (SM) 1, 2 and 3, respectively.
3. Methods
In this section, a description of the cocoa growing areas as well
as the specific areas studied in this paper and the methods used
to collect data for the analysis are provided..
3.1. The study area
This explorative study was carried out in four Regions of Ghana;
four cocoa farming communities in Ahafo Region – Akrodie, Kasapin, Kukuom and Goaso; Sunyani in Bono Region; Kumasi in
Ashanti Region and Tema in Greater Accra Region. Fig. 1 shows the
main cocoa growing regions in Ghana, which are Western North,
Ashanti, Bono, Ahafo, Central and Eastern regions, and the areas
where the studies were conducted.
Data related to the production stage activities in the value
chain, i.e. planting, transplanting, weeding, fertilizer application,
harvesting, fermentation and drying, which are done by the farmers, was collected in the farming communities in Ahafo Region.
4. Results and discussion
The results for this study were obtained through semistructured interviews and qualitative and quantitative surveys. The
structure of the cocoa value chain with specific emphasis on energy and water aspects were analysed using a GIZ energy and water mapping tool. Stakeholders involved in all activities of the value
chain were also mapped. The results are presented and discussed
in subSections 4.1 to 4.8..
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Fig. 1. Cocoa growing regions and studied areas.
Table 1
List of different products along the cocoa value chain.
S/N
Product
Use
1
2
3
4
5
Husks of cocoa pods, pulp, sweating
Cocoa butter
Cocoa powder
Cocoa liquor
Chocolate
Soft drinks, potash, jam and marmalade, mulch
Manufacture of chocolate, moisturising creams
Drinks, ice cream/mousse, cakes biscuits
Chocolate production
Confectionary products: cakes, pastries, cookies
4.1. Cocoa products
economies of scale. Fig. 2 shows a snapshot of the Global Cocoa
Value Chain (GVCC), which shows the post-harvest and processing
activities that take place within Ghana and outside Ghana.
Most cocoa farms in Ghana are smallholder farmers. The cocoa
value chain in Ghana is partially a liberalized marketing structure.
It has both elements of private and government participation. The
cocoa value chain spans nursing of cocoa seeds through to use or
consumption of cocoa products such as chocolate. Table 1 shows
the various cocoa products and their related uses. In general, most
farmers would nurse their cocoa seeds and replant later while a
few others prefer to obtain seedlings and plant at stake. Seeds are
obtained largely from the Cocoa Seed Production Division (SPD) of
COCOBOD and in a few occasions, from other farmers or farming
groups.
4.3. Visual overview of the cocoa value chain in Ghana
Interactions with COCOBOD indicate that currently about 40%
of the total cocoa production is processed in Ghana and this corresponds to about 290,0 0 0 tonnes. The remaining 60% is exported,
and the government, through Cocoa Marketing Board (a subsidiary
of COCOBOD) has strong monopoly over this. The higher percentage of in-country processing is as a result of expansion in the operations of existing processing companies, introduction of handmade chocolate production by the industries and the coming on
board of new processing companies. The Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) according to COCOBOD leadership is helping the promotion of hand-made chocolate in Ghana. One such company is
a US$30 million processing plant, which was inaugurated in the
early parts of 2019: this alone has a capacity of 15,0 0 0 tonnes/year.
Fig. 3 gives a visual overview of the cocoa VC in Ghana.
4.2. Detailed analysis of activities in the cocoa value chain
In an interaction with the Seed Production Division (SPD) of
COCOBOD, the activities in the cocoa value chain are categorised
into three stages: pre-harvest, post-harvest and processing. Key activities, which run through all these categories, are farming and
harvesting of cocoa pods; fermentation and drying of cocoa beans
and extraction either occurs on or close to the farm having a few
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E.A. Awafo and P.A. Owusu
Sustainable Production and Consumption 29 (2022) 341–356
Fig. 2. GVCC, including activities within Ghana (Source: Asamoah and Annan, 2012).
4.4. Cocoa value chain stakeholder analysis
In relation to energy and water utilization along the value
chain, different stakeholders play various roles. Table 2 outlines
the activities related to energy and water within the role of these
stakeholders.
There are also development partners in Ghana, who provide
various forms of support to the VC activities in the cocoa sector.
The China-Ghana south-south cooperation project is one initiative
that presented opportunity for renewable energy transfer to some
rural communities in the country by providing solar home systems
for communities.
In 2017, CocoaAction installed boreholes to provide water for
cocoa farming communities that depend on streams as source of
potable water. These boreholes also assist the farmers in times of
water needs for watering their nursery. In addition, Olam Cocoa
in 2017 constructed 15 mechanized boreholes in 15 cocoa growing
communities to have access to safe drinking water.
During the field survey and interactions, it became evident that,
one challenge facing Ghana’s cocoa is the ageing workforce at the
There are a number of actors that contribute to the sustainability of Ghana’s cocoa value chain; directly or indirectly to the production, processing, transportation and marketing of cocoa and cocoa products. They comprise Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) with
their subsidiaries such as the Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC),
Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) Limited, Cocoa Research Institute
of Ghana (CRIG), Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED), the
Quality Control Company Ltd (QCCL); the Private Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs); cocoa farmers; and farmer associations.
The various main stakeholders are either from the public, informal, formal, private and civil sectors. Fig. 4 shows stakeholders
in the value chain, with a grouping of key stakeholders to each
of the public, private and public sector. The key stakeholders in
each sector are within the inner circle (light green colour) and
the outer circle comprises the supporting stakeholders (light blue
colour).
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E.A. Awafo and P.A. Owusu
Sustainable Production and Consumption 29 (2022) 341–356
Fig. 3. Visual Overview of the Cocoa Value Chain.
Fig. 4. Cocoa value chain stakeholders (Source: Authors’ construct).
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Sustainable Production and Consumption 29 (2022) 341–356
Table 2
Value Chain activities including stakeholders and energy and water aspects.
Role in Value
Chain
Value Chain Step
Stakeholders
Type of Actor
Production
Cocoa research
institutions
(CRIG)
Public
Farm Input
providers
(CHED, SPD)
Public
Farmers (Ghana
Cocoa, Coffee
and Sheanut
Farmers
Association
(GCCSFA))
Private
Pre-processing
PBC; CMC;
COCOBOD
Private and
public
Fermentation of
seeds, drying of
seeds;
certification and
bagging of
cocoa beans;
buying of cocoa
beans; support
farmers with
licensed buying
companies.
Processing
Cocoa
Processing
Companies (CPC,
OLAM Cocoa,
PLOT, TOUTO,
AFROTROPIC)
Private and
Public (only
CPC)
Marketing
Retailers of
cocoa products.
e.g., shops,
supermarkets
etc.
Transportation
units
(trucks,
tricycles,
haulers
Private
Entities that
convert raw
cocoa in
products (milo,
cocoa powder,
beverages,
chocolate) for
use
Sale and supply
of cocoa
products to
consumers.
Bulk buyers
Private
Private
Energy Source
Research into
seedlings,
fertilizers and
pesticides for
cocoa
production.
Investigations
into pest and
disease control
Extension
services
Sale and Supply
of farm inputs
(fertilizers,
pesticides,
fungicides
equipment) for
farmers
Seed growing,
spraying,
clearing weeds,
fertilizer
application,
harvesting cocoa
Convey
Farms inputs
Cocoa beans to
the ports
Cocoa products
from industries
to markets,
consumers, etc.
Intermediaries
between
product
processing
companies and
retailers.
Energy Usage
Rating∗
Water Source
Water Usage
Intensity
Grid electricity
for office use
and laboratories
Fuel
(Petrol/Diesel)
for vehicles to
the field
+
Blue water used
in the
laboratory for
research.
+
Electrical energy
for producing
farm inputs.
+
N/A
N/A
Diesel/petrol/ to
power tractors
ploughs for
farmland
preparation.
Fuel and human
power for
powering and
using spraying
equipment.
Solar energy for
drying of beans.
Sun for drying
at the various
shell/buying
stations.
Manpower for
rebagging/packaging
of cocoa beans
for export.
Manpower for
loading trucks
with cocoa for
various
destinations.
Grid electricity
for winnowing,
roasting,
milling, boiling,
heating,
conveyers,
storage,
packaging
Use of
electricity in the
shops.
+
River/stream
water is used
for mixing
pesticides,
weedicides for
spraying farms
etc. and for
limited
irrigation
activities.
++
+++
Blue water is for
Boiling, heating
and steam
production.
++
++
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
++
Use of fuel
(diesel/petrol)
to power
transport
systems
Fuel is used to
feed
transportation
systems.
Source: Compiled from the information obtained through interviews using supplementary materials (SM) 1 to 3.
∗
+ means minimal usage of energy; ++ means average use of energy; +++ means intensive use of energy.
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Sustainable Production and Consumption 29 (2022) 341–356
Fig. 5. Cocoa drying activity in Ghana.
Fig. 6. Energy distribution along the value chain (Source: Authors’ construct, based on GIZ VC mapping tool).
farming level, such that about 60% of farmer respondents were
above 50 years, which is a threat to the future sustainability of cocoa in Ghana. Cocoa life has invested in training 7828 youth in cocoa farming and its related enterprises to encourage youth participation in future progress of the cocoa value chain (Mondelēz International, 2019). A major challenge to the lack of youth involvement
in the cocoa sector is the lack of incentives. This lack of incentives,
according to studies by Takane (20 0 0) and Quarmine et al. (2012),
is as a result of information asymmetry between farmers on one
hand and the other stakeholders in the value chain (e.g. produce
buying companies, the regulators, extension officers, etc.) on the
other hand. This information problem not only causes low levels
of youth participation in farming, it also causes farmers inability
or unwillingness to invest resources into recommended farm practices and this leads to low productivity and low quality of cocoa
beans..
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Table 3
Types of energy used along each value chain activity.
Value chain Step
Activity
Actor
Energy Source utilization
Production
Supply of cocoa seeds,
seedlings and extension
services
Cocoa seeds, seedlings
production (seed
gardens)
CHED
Fuel (petrol/diesel) for
transportation, man power
SPD
Land preparation,
nursing of seeds
Growing
seeds/seedlings, farm
management practices
(weeding, Spraying of
pesticides, fungicides,
fertilizer application).
harvesting,
fermentation, drying
Extension services
(mass spraying,
pesticides/fungicides
supply)
Harvesting
Fermentation
Drying
Farmers
Manual energy, solar energy
for irrigation, fuel
(diesel/petrol) for
transportation
Manual energy
Pre-processing
Processing
Re-drying, re-bagging,
storage
Sale and Export
Processing
Farmers
Man power, fuel (petrol) for
spraying machine
CHED
Fuel for transportation
(extension service delivery)
Farmer
Farmers
Man power
Manual energy
Direct Solar Energy (see
Fig. 5)
Solar energy, man power,
electrical energy
Fuel in transportation
Heat, electricity from grid,
man power, use of fuel
PC, LBC, PBC
CMB
Industrial cocoa
processing companies
(surveyed Olam and
Cargill)
Source: Obtained from responses from SM 1 to 3.
Also, ensuring that cocoa is sustainably produced has economic,
environmental and ethical concerns to all the stakeholders especially farmers and processing companies. Sustainable production of
cocoa can be achieved through ending deforestation and using new
technology to grow more cocoa on less land. Ignoring sustainability
measures can lead to low production for farmers and higher prices
and supply shortfalls of inputs for processors.
some wish there could be opportunity and support for them to improve beans drying with solar dryers, which would decrease drying
time during rainy seasons, prevent pest attack from open drying
and reduce its labour-intensive nature while maintaining the quality of beans produced. Fig. 7 is a classic example of what could be
very beneficial to farmers and PBCs.
Biomass residues: The production of cocoa generates residues
such as the cocoa pods and husks (Fig. 8). About 80 0,0 0 0 tnes
of cocoa beans residues is produced and often simply left to rot
on farms (Unwin, 2019). Utilizing these resources to generate energy will not only increase RE share of Ghana’s energy mix, it will
increase value of the process and agro-economy while decreasing
quantity of waste generation. In past times, women groups burn
the pods to generate ash for local soap production, some farmers
admitted that they no more allow that since it turns to burn their
cocoa farms.
Manual energy: The current cocoa chain is characterized by old
age at the production stage, despite some progress being made.
Ghana produces one of the best quality cocoa in the world, but
its activities at the farm level is largely by human effort. There is
the need to invest and promote more youth participation in the
production sector of the value chain.
4.5. Energy mapping
4.5.1. Types of energy used in each step of the value chain
TThe main sources of energy used for activities in the cocoa
value chain are manpower, renewable energy sources and fossil fuels. Table 3 presents the energy types that are used in each value
chain step.
4.5.2. Energy demand distribution along the value chain
The energy distribution analysis presented in Fig. 6 is an estimate based on the observations and findings from SM 1 to 3 and
subjected to the authors’ evaluation of the energy use activities
along the value chain.
4.5.3. Untapped energy sources
Besides electricity, fossil fuel and the direct sun for open air
drying, there remain other resources that can be harnessed to enhance efficiency along the cocoa value chain in Ghana. These untapped resources are solar energy to create systems for controlled
drying, biomass residues from the cocoa production and innovation
with manual labour.
Solar: Ghana has a huge potential to tap maximum solar energy
for improved drying systems across the country. Upon discussions
with farmers, they rely solely on open direct sun for drying, but
4.6. Water mapping
This water mapping section involves analysis of the sources,
quantity and quality of water that s used for the different activities along the cocoa value chain, based on results from the survey.
The section also examines the kind of impacts that activities along
the value have on quality of water at the operational areas and
concludes with a discussion on how to protect water bodies and
regulate the use of water.
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Sustainable Production and Consumption 29 (2022) 341–356
Fig. 7. Examples of maximum solar utilization for drying cocoa beans (Source: Gorlk Ghana Ltd, 2019; Schweisguth, 2012).
Fig. 8. Samples of biomass waste along the value chain.
4.6.1. Water demand (quantity and quality) in the different steps of
the value chain
From the field studies, it was observed that different sources
of water in different quantities with different qualities are used
for the different activities during cocoa production and processing. Despite the existing usage, the supply systems are not robust enough to provide water constantly along the entire chain,
hence, demand is not ultimately met. Seed production units rely
on government supplied water, mechanised boreholes, and streams
in some cases for their water usage. Nurseries rely on surface water such as streams with a back-up from government or community based boreholes in a few cases. Along the growth of the cocoa,
rainwater is the sole source except for spraying purposes where an
acre of a cocoa farm could be sprayed with an average of 4 barrels
(approximately 480 litres) of water which is used to dilute pesticides and weedicides, for the entire year. An average annual rainfall
of 20 0 0 mm for a usual rainy season is required for cocoa growth.
Along the processing chains of the cocoa beans, well treated
water is required. For a kilogram of cocoa produced, an estimated
13 litres of fresh water is required to process it. The existing options are to either process water for use at facilities or rely on
government supplied water. The most widely used option at the
moment is the government supplied sources as that comes with
recommended quality standards. Treating water for use at the processing facilities increases operational cost of companies. Companies have storage tanks that are used to store water for off-flow
periods, however, most companies augment this supply with a
ground-based water supply system (e.g. boreholes).
4.6.2. Sources of water (blue, green, grey water)
Field survey confirmed the blue, green and grey water footprints along the entire cocoa value chain. Comparing observations
on the field to the approach used by Carlos et al. 2017, and the
variables observed, it could be qualitatively confirmed that the
footprints predicated is valid. It follows that, for a kilogram of cocoa product to be on market, about 565 litres of water: grey (trace
fraction), blue (120 litres) and green (432 litres) would have been
consumed.
The green water source is the rainwater, which is used entirely
along the growth of cocoa until harvesting. The blue water sources
include use of community based boreholes, Ghana Water Company Limited, Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA),
streams, dug-outs, etc. Known grey water footprints have traces
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E.A. Awafo and P.A. Owusu
Sustainable Production and Consumption 29 (2022) 341–356
Fig. 9. Water mapping along the value chain of cocoa (Source: Authors’ construct, based on GIZ VC mapping tool).
of use along the chain; in extreme cases for production and as
coolants in cocoa processing factories.
crease shading and improve economic gains. Processing of cocoa as
part of the cocoa value chain produces bio-waste, which is usually
discharged into water bodies, thereby polluting them. Meanwhile,
these bio-wastes could be channelled into producing various forms
of energy. Such energy options include powering a boiler, powering
a biodigester, powering a gasifier, etc. These energy forms could be
used both in the processing of cocoa (confectionaries) and/or tied
into national grid and for community consumption through distributed generation.
In addition to using the biowastes for energy production, they
can also be used to mulch and fertilise the soil, just as the fresh
fruit bunch of palm oil wastes can be used as soil ameliorants
4.6.3. Impact of cocoa value chain activities on water quality
Cultivation and/or growing of cocoa improve(s) on water quality by serving as shade for water bodies. That notwithstanding, occurrence of soil erosion is high when shade trees are not included
in cocoa farming. This increases the rate and extent of fertilization, which may leach into soil and cause surface and groundwater
pollution. Employing farming practices such as terracing mulching,
pruning and use of shade from other crops in the practice of mixed
cropping is common amongst cocoa farmers in Ghana. In addition
to this, farmers can also plant fruit trees on their farms to in353
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Sustainable Production and Consumption 29 (2022) 341–356
Table 4
SWOT Analysis.
Strengths
Weaknesses
Stakeholder base: The Cocoa value chain has
strong participation of different stakeholders
along the cocoa value chain, whose activities and
roles are very well defined and streamlined
Cost: The cocoa growing sector is mainly
smallholder farmer based. They may not be able
to afford innovative energy and water supply to
support their operations.
Manpower: There is over-reliance on manpower
at the pre-harvesting parts of the cocoa value
chains, which causes drudgery
Funding: inadequate funding schemes to provide
irrigation infrastructure and off-grid energy
supply for the cocoa value chain
Threats
Rainfall pattern: The farming activities are
broadly rain fed. As a result of climate change,
rainfall patterns are shifting in Ghana, and
sometimes more rainfalls within a short period of
time and droughts for a prolonged period of time.
Cocoa production is sensitive to precipitation and
it is reduced by drought.
Environmental challenges: climate change and
environmental challenges affecting streams and
other surface waters.
Fossil fuel prices: Fossil fuel prices continue to
rise, which affects the price of cocoa due to the
long distances covered in transporting cocoa
beans from farms to the processing and export
centres.
Cocoa waste usage: There is an attractive use of
cocoa waste to fertilise soil for cocoa farming
which will disincentivise the use for energy
innovation.
Opportunities
Incentives for Innovations: There are existing
good policies and enabling environment that
would incentivize innovations and private sector
participation in energy generation and water
supply in the VC. Examples are the Renewable
Energy ACT and plenty of donor-funded initiatives
that supports the development of renewable
energy technologies and energy efficiency
programs, and Government’s one village one dam
flagship programme
Waste: Generation of over 800,000 tonnes of
cocoa waste annually
Free sun: free sun energy (good solar radiation or
solar potential) for powering irrigation plants and
for solar dryers
Waste water treatment: Processing companies
generate grey water which could be treated and
re-channelled into the treatment system
(Anyaoha et al., 2018) and biochar from maize and cabbage is used
as soil amendments tool (Akolgo et al., 2020.)
4.8. Analysis of needs and constraints from an energy and water
point of view
4.6.4. Water protection and saving options
The Government of Ghana needs huge investments for the construction, operation and maintenance of irrigations systems, and
these systems should correlate with changing circumstances over
their useful life. Currently, there is no good infrastructure support dedicated to water supply for irrigation. However, there are
new and upcoming interventions, which promise to save the situation: one-village-one-dam initiative by the Government of Ghana
and the COCOBOD’s solar powered irrigation plant initiative. Visual
overview of water usage and potential water application is presented in Fig. 9.
Processing companies are required to pre-treat their effluent
before they are channelled into streams and water bodies, at least
to a quality that is less harmful to the environment. This is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and it is required that all users of water for different purposes including cocoa farming and processing take permit before beginning their operations. This is a good approach to protecting water bodies and
regulating their use.
From interactions with the stakeholders and analysis made,
many needs and constraints were identified. These were mainly
those related to the energy and water use along the cocoa value
chain.
4.8.1. Needs
Needs that were identified were largely related to the production and processing stages of the value chain.
i The Seed Production Division (SPD) of the COCOBOD requires
lower cost of water supply to nurse cocoa seedling for onward distribution to famers. Currently, the SPD relies heavily on
treated water supplied from the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to raise the nurseries, and this is very expensive.
Other viable sources could be dugouts and boreholes on the
field, which will be solar-pumped to raise these seedlings. A
similar need exists at the processing stage, where the companies also depend heavily on water from the GWCL.
ii Farmers use water from flowing streams and rivers nearby to
spray insecticides on their farms. These water bodies sometimes dry up making it difficult for them to get water for spraying.
iii Energy efficiency interventions in cocoa processing facilities
need to be implemented. Currently, the facilities use obsolete
high energy consuming processing equipment.
iv Cheaper and safer transportation systems that reduce energy
usage are also needed.
4.7. SWOT analysis of energy and water aspects of the cocoa value
chain
The cocoa sector is a vibrant and an economically viable industry in Ghana. However, the VC activities from input to processing are plagued with various weaknesses that need redress. There
are also opportunities and strengths that can be harnessed to improve efficiency and productivity. The key observations from this
study are to take advantage of possible renewable energy innovations, energy efficiency measures, water usage innovations which
will most likely support the industry to maximize gains along the
chain. Table 4 presents findings from strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis.
4.8.2. Constraints
Although there may be innovative solutions available to address
some of the needs of the stakeholders along the value chain, there
are real constraints that have to be considered in designing solutions to the needs. Some of these are elaborated below.
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Sustainable Production and Consumption 29 (2022) 341–356
i High capital investment required for renewable energy and energy efficiency innovation interventions
ii Innovations in energy and water usage along the value chain
involve investment cost, and these will have to be paid for
by the end-users. But, the production stage is predominantly
smallholder farmers, who may not be able to pay for these. For
instance, these farmers from the discussions on their earnings
will not be able to afford irrigation infrastructure individually.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
influence the work reported in this paper.
Funding
The collection of data for this analysis was funded by The
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH
(GIZ), a German development agency [contract number 83334238]
4.8.3. Quick wins
a) The main categories of waste derived from the cocoa value
chain are the cocoa pod husk, cocoa sweatings or pulp juice
and discarded cocoa beans. Some farmers use the pods husk to
fertilize their farms, although that is at a very limited scale because Government provides them with heavily subsidized inorganic fertilizer. Well developed and widely used thermochemical and biochemical technologies exist, which can be used to
generate energy from these bio-waste streams.
b) Use of the bio-waste as mulch on the farms and appropriate
conversion technologies to produce organic fertiliser from the
waste, which will improve crop yield and soil properties.
c) Use of greenhouses to dry cocoa beans
d) Use of solar powered irrigation facilities for seed production,
nursery and spraying
e) Partner with the wide range of active stakeholders involved in
the VC to enhance efficiency and productivity.
Supplementary materials
Supplementary material associated with this article can be
found, in the online version, at doi:10.1016/j.spc.2021.10.027.
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5. Conclusions
The largest source of energy usage at the production level is
manpower, especially at the farm management practices involving activities such as weeding, pesticides and fungicides application, harvesting and drying. Some devices utilized presently are the
mist blower, hook and knife and the knapsack sprayer. While the
chain is labour intensive it is characterized by old age, which is
a threat to the future of the value chain. Water is a major input
in the growth of cocoa. Farmers rely heavily on rains for their cocoa production, except for nursing of seedling that is sourced from
streams and wells for its growth before transplanting. Investments
and innovations in these areas are therefore recommended. The
following interventions should target cocoa production level actors
as the primary beneficiaries to increase yield.
• Solar drying systems: The current drying method, although
with the sun, has limitations of more drying days, open to destruction by animals, and labour intensive. Systems as shown
in Fig. 7 may be able to improve the drying process since solar
dryers preserve the flavour of the cocoa beans.
• Solar powered irrigation systems: In the era of climate change,
which has affected weather patterns globally, available water
is a crucial need for adequate yield. Farmers do not have any
source of water in long dry period of the farming season, which
leave the cocoa farms to the fate of the weather since the sector is basically rain fed. There is no existing irrigation system
verified on the grounds and in use at the farmer level. However, the SPD of COCOBOD has this irrigation system for seed
production, it is very limited in supply.
• Energy efficiency: Provide technical support to processing companies to improve on their energy efficiency measures.
• Cleaner energy production: waste to energy technologies can be
harnessed to generate cleaner energy from the wastes generated along the value chain.
• Investment in mechanized devices and machineries for cocoa
farming.
• Engagement with farmers to provide them education and technical support and monitoring to ensure compliance and improved expertise.
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