Ghanaian smallholder cocoa farmers lack consistent access to quality agricultural inputs and best practice information. Traditional mechanisms for extension services to farmers end once program funding ends. Farmers need access to on-going agriculture, financial, and informational inputs to continue to increase the quality and quantity of their yields year after year.
Market Solution
To increase the efficiency and productivity of the agricultural sector and build up local Ghanaian institutional capacity for service provision, Tanager (operating then as ASI) developed a business- and private sector-oriented approach. Tanager collaborated with B. Kaakyire Enterprise and COCOBOD, the Ghanaian governmental institution responsible for overseeing cocoa production and purchases, to create two pilot Business Service Centers that would serve as an industry model for sustainable agricultural by demonstrating the monetary and social value of diverse business offerings. Tanager facilitated mutually beneficial relationships where the exchange of information and sale of high-quality goods and services aligned to benefit both farmers and businesses.
Tanager’s component of the Cocoa Livelihoods Program focused on collaborating with the private sector to create sustainable, independent businesses that serve Ghanaian Cocoa Farmers with high quality inputs, access to best practices, and current market information.
Market Impact
Tanager’s component of the Cocoa Livelihoods Program had the following impact:
- In collaboration with B. Kaakyire Enterprise, established two rural Business Service Centers that provide agricultural inputs to smallholder farmers, primarily cocoa producing areas.
- The Business Service Centers provided over 4,800 smallholder farmers with agricultural inputs, business services, financial services, and research and marketing information.
- An example of the impact of the Centers can be seen in the story of Clement Benteh, a cocoa farmer in Sefwi-Ahokwaa. After receiving agricultural inputs, access to credit, and information on best practices through his local business service center, his cocoa yields increased from four to 18 bags, and his income rose by 350 percent.