Supply-Side Interventions in Cocoa Production in Ghana: A Regional Decomposition of Technical Efficiency and Technological Gaps

Although Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) promotes technical change in cocoa farming with innovative technologies and input support, crop productivity is better advanced by improving on the efficiency of use farmers. This study thereby investigates farmers Ghana. The uses cross sectional field data covering Western North, Ashanti, Eastern, Volta Brong-Ahafo regions a sample 899 adopts Meta frontier stochastic analysis to derive production efficiencies for each region. findings are that supply-side interventions such as hand pollination, hybrid seedlings, farm pruning extension services can improve farmers, more especially Eastern Notably, CODAPEC support programme which encapsulates insecticides fungicides spraying has failed compared Hi-Tech (fertilizer application) programme. region stand out most efficient producers, producing about 87% their potential output given technology, whereas North produces 76% its potential, lowest five regions. three other regions, namely, Brong-Ahafo, Ashanti produce average 83%, 80% 78% respectively. Averagely, growing underutilizing 21.5% available technology industry while losing 36.5% due inefficiencies.