Cocoa

Cocoa production has, over the years since its discovery, assumed an important role in shaping the economic, social, and political structures of cocoa-producing countries, particularly in West Africa. Not only has it done so at a local level, but it has also defined the place of West African producing countries in the global economy. Over the years, cocoa evolved to become an integral part of many cultures. Generally, cocoa is produced in the tropical and subtropical regions. It is distinctly selective to climate and soil and is very susceptible to pests and diseases. This regional exactitude significantly shaped global cocoa marketing and consumption during the course of the evolution of the industry, in which cocoa was produced for markets in temperate countries. The dynamics that triggered and were triggered by cocoa production at all levels—locally, regionally, and globally—offer essential analytical pathways in approaching the development debate in Africa. Various scholarly works examine the origins and significance of cocoa production in West African societies, economies, and politics. They engage debates on the impact of cocoa production on capital accumulation, class formation, regional economic integration, gender relations, and the environment.

Author(s):  
John Adekunle Adesina ◽  
Zhu Jiangang ◽  
Tang Xiaolan

According to this study, approximately half of Africa's forests are utilized primarily or partially for the production of wood and non-wood commodities. Aims to evaluate Africa's forestry and forest products, namely Wood Forest Products (WFPs) and Non-wood Forest Products (NWFPs) in the sixteen (16) West African countries. While adhering to the following guidelines: wood extraction and preparation, analyzing wood primarily used as an energy source in Africa, identifying non-wood forest products in Africa, the state of export, trade, and customs procedures in West Africa, and examining the role of forests and forest stakeholders in Africa's low-carbon economy transition. An exploratory literature review of selected wood forest products and non-wood forest products (plants and animals) in West Africa identifying the country, the natural land area with the natural habitat issues of the forest, the species most harvested and traded in the West African sub-region. The study reemphasized some government legislation, policies, and market trade failures and limitations while also stating that trees may help in the low-carbon revolution through interventions aimed at maintaining, improving, and restoring natural capital have demonstrated that high environmental requirements of sustainable forest management (SFM) may be met in both natural and planted forests. The study identified a systematic assessment of the most common forest products (wood and non-wood forest products) considering the available data on the national forest reserves of the selected countries in West Africa. The study also revealed the need for biodiversity conservation of the available forest reserves to help mitigate the impact of global warming targeting the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 13- Climate Action. Which is focused on integrating climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning signs into the national policies, improving forest planning and management education, awareness-raising, and institutional capacity within the sub-region.


1995 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 113-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mamit Deme

There is a scarcity of published statistical analysis that examines the impact of economic integration schemes in Africa. This study fills the gap in the literature. The impact of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on trade flows of its member countries is examined applying an econometric analysis. The parameters of a multivariate trade-flows model are estimated using a panel data of the 1975 to 1991 period. The results suggest that the regional integration scheme has succeeded in increasing trade flows between member countries. The general view in the literature is that African integration schemes have failed to increase trade flows.


Author(s):  
Kenneth Ofori-Boateng ◽  
Baba Insah

Purpose – The study aimed at examining the current and future impact of climate change on cocoa production in West Africa. Design/methodology/approach – A translog production function based on crop yield response framework was used. A panel model was estimated using data drawn from cocoa-producing countries in West Africa. An in-sample simulation was used to determine the predictive power of the model. In addition, an out-sample simulation revealed the effect of future trends of temperature and precipitation on cocoa output. Findings – Temperature and precipitation play a considerable role in cocoa production in West Africa. It was established that extreme temperature adversely affected cocoa output in the sub-region. Furthermore, increasing temperature and declining precipitation trends will reduce cocoa output in the future. Practical implications – An important implication of this study is the recognition that lagging effects are the determinants of cocoa output and not coincident effects. This finds support from the agronomic point of view considering the gestation period of the cocoa crop. Originality/value – Although several studies have been carried out in this area, this study modeled and estimated the interacting effects of factors that influence cocoa production. This is closer to reality, as climatic factors and agricultural inputs combine to yield output.


1982 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 613-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Robson

Of the four current schemes for international economic integration in West Africa, the operation of the Communauté économique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest has been recently reviewed, the Economic Community of West African States continues to be widely discussed, while the agreement of the Presidents of Senegal and Gambia in Dakar on 17 December 1981 to establish a Senegambian Confederation, and to develop an economic and monetary union between the two countries, is as yet in its formative stages. This article examines the structure, progress, and potential of the Mano River Union (M.R.U.) about which little has been published.


2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-109
Author(s):  
Jakub Borowski ◽  
Jakub Olipra ◽  
Paweł Błaszyński

Abstract The decision of the United Kingdom (UK) to leave the European Union (EU) is unprecedented, especially considering the recent trend in the global economy toward economic integration. There is a multitude of research concerning the implications of economic integration; however, research in the field of disintegration is scarce. Brexit serves as an interesting case study to investigate the effects of economic disintegration. The implications for trade are especially fascinating as trade liberalization is one of the most important benefits of economic integration. Existing studies focus mainly on Brexit’s impact on the UK’s exports and imports, while less attention has been paid to Brexit’s effects on the trade of other countries. The main objective of our research is to estimate Brexit’s influence on Polish exports. We present several possible scenarios of future trade relations between the UK and the EU and assume that, at least in the nearest-future post-Brexit scenario, trade under the World Trade Organization rules is most likely. This will result in the imposition of tariffs on trade between the UK and the EU members, including Poland. In our research, we used the real exchange rate of the Polish zloty against the British pound as a proxy for the changes in price competitiveness of Polish exports due to the imposition of tariffs. We find that in the first year after Brexit, the dynamics of Polish exports to the UK will decrease due to the imposition of customs duties by 1.3 percentage points (pp) and by 0.1 pp when it comes to total Polish exports. This paper contributes to the discussion on the effects of disintegration on trade. We propose a new method for assessing changes in trade volume due to increase of trade barriers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
Alhassan Abukari ◽  
Tan Cunfeng

Ghana in the year 1911 became the world’s largest exporter of cocoa. However, cocoa export in Ghana nearly came to standstill in the 1970s as a result of the outbreak of swollen shoot disease of cocoa. Ghana since then has not been able to rejuvenate its cocoa export as expected. The years 1999 to 2018 have witnessed a downward trend in the export of cocoa in Ghana. This raises questions of whether the phrase “Ghana is cocoa, and cocoa is Ghana” is still valid. The study attempts to analyze the competitiveness of Ghana’s cocoa sector vis-à-vis its neighbors. In doing so, the authors calculate the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) and Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA) for Ghana to compare with other West African exporters of cocoa and assess the determinants of Ghana’s cocoa exports. The authors adopt a regression framework to explore the determinants of cocoa exports. The results revealed that Ghana is highly competitive in the export of cocoa beans. The study attributed this advantage to the quality of the cocoa beans Ghana exports. The results further showed that Ghana’s cocoa production volumes and the World consumer price of cocoa beans were the major determinants of the volume of cocoa beans exported in Ghana. The study concluded that although Ghana enjoys a comparative advantage in the export of cocoa beans, Ghana’s cocoa production volumes fluctuate thus affecting the volume of cocoa exported. Ghana, therefore, needs to invest in new hybrid climate-smart cocoa cultivation to boost production and export.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 3789-3812
Author(s):  
Jaber Rahimi ◽  
Expedit Evariste Ago ◽  
Augustine Ayantunde ◽  
Sina Berger ◽  
Jan Bogaert ◽  
...  

Abstract. West African Sahelian and Sudanian ecosystems provide essential services to people and also play a significant role within the global carbon cycle. However, climate and land use are dynamically changing, and uncertainty remains with respect to how these changes will affect the potential of these regions to provide food and fodder resources or how they will affect the biosphere–atmosphere exchange of CO2. In this study, we investigate the capacity of a process-based biogeochemical model, LandscapeDNDC, to simulate net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and aboveground biomass of typical managed and natural Sahelian and Sudanian savanna ecosystems. In order to improve the simulation of phenology, we introduced soil-water availability as a common driver of foliage development and productivity for all of these systems. The new approach was tested by using a sample of sites (calibration sites) that provided NEE from flux tower observations as well as leaf area index data from satellite images (MODIS, MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer). For assessing the simulation accuracy, we applied the calibrated model to 42 additional sites (validation sites) across West Africa for which measured aboveground biomass data were available. The model showed good performance regarding biomass of crops, grass, or trees, yielding correlation coefficients of 0.82, 0.94, and 0.77 and root-mean-square errors of 0.15, 0.22, and 0.12 kg m−2, respectively. The simulations indicate aboveground carbon stocks of up to 0.17, 0.33, and 0.54 kg C ha−1 m−2 for agricultural, savanna grasslands, and savanna mixed tree–grassland sites, respectively. Carbon stocks and exchange rates were particularly correlated with the abundance of trees, and grass biomass and crop yields were higher under more humid climatic conditions. Our study shows the capability of LandscapeDNDC to accurately simulate carbon balances in natural and agricultural ecosystems in semiarid West Africa under a wide range of conditions; thus, the model could be used to assess the impact of land-use and climate change on the regional biomass productivity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 496-518
Author(s):  
Matthew Happold

Abstract In the light of increasing discontent with arbitration as a method of investor–State dispute settlement (ISDS), alongside proposals for the establishment of court systems for the settlement of such disputes, this article suggests that such a mechanism might already be available for West African States in the form of the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The ECOWAS Court of Justice, the article shows, can already deal with a variety of investor–State disputes, while reforms are suggested to extend its investment jurisdiction and render it more effective. Such initiatives, it argues, would assist in developing African States’ role as ‘investment rule makers’ rather than ‘rule takers’, as well as further ECOWAS’s mission to promote economic integration within West Africa.


2001 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunday Babalola Ajulo

Articles 6(e) and 15(1–4) of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty (1993) provide for the establishment of a Court of Justice of the Community. These provisions should, however, be read along with those of the Protocol on the Community Court of Justice initialled in 1991. Attempts have been made to analyse various aspects of the institutions of the Community, including the Court of Justice. While Bankole Thompson examined the legal problems of the economic integration in West Africa, Kofi Oteng Kufuor attempted to look at the Court of Justice from the angle of compliance with its judgments by member states. Denakin, for his part, appraised generally the prospects of the Court.


1989 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Lynn

In the late nineteenth century the West African palm oil trade entered a period of difficulties, characterized mainly by a fall in prices from the early 1860s. Part of the reason for this lay in the introduction of regular steamship services between Britain and West Africa from 1852. As steam came to replace sail so the palm oil trade underwent major changes. These changes can be quantified fairly precisely. One effect of the introduction of steamers was the concentration of the British side of the oil trade once again on Liverpool, its original centre. Another effect was the increase in the number of West African ports involved in the trade. The most important impact was the increase in numbers of traders in oil trade from around 25 to some 150. The resulting increased competition in the trade led to amal-gamations becoming increasingly common – a process that culminated in the formation of the African Association Ltd in 1889. It was also to provide the context for the pressure exerted by some traders for an increased colonial presence in the 1880s and 1890s.


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