Agricultural Productivity Sustainability: Supply Chain Management of Ghanaian Cocoa Farmers and Purchasing Clerks Practices

This paper outlines the result of a preliminary study that explored agricultural productivity sustainability and supply chain management of Ghana cocoa farmers and purchasing clerks’ practices. Particularly, the study seeks to understand the supply chain management challenges confronting Ghana cocoa farmers and purchasing clerks within the Ghanaian cocoa industry as it has implications for cocoa production agricultural productivity, and sustainability.
The qualitative pilot study was undertaken using semi-structured interview questions to gather data from eight study participants. The data collected was analysed using a Trans Positional Cognition Approach (TPCA) analytical tool. The dominant themes that emerge from the pilot study include constraints of farmgate practices and implication of farmgate constraints of SCM. These findings from the pilot study represent cocoa farmgate agricultural productivity constraints that impact the practice of effective supply chain management in Ghana. The outcome of this initial study is valuable as it signposts farmers, policymakers, and other stakeholders within and outside government and to the challenges that need tackling to achieve agricultural productivity sustainability of Cocoa production in Ghana.

The main study is ongoing, and it is hoped the findings from the research will give us additional insight to enhance our understanding of the studied phenomenon.