Abstract

The introduction of cocoa cultivation in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, even if it followed different paths, eventually established itself as one of the main sources of incomes for millions of farmers, but also for the two states. Following independence, in 1957 for Ghana and 1960 for Côte d’Ivoire, cocoa farming underwent unprecedented development. Dividends from the sale of cocoa contributed to the economic dynamism of both countries until 1980, when the economic crisis hit the economies of African countries hard. Despite the fall in prices on the international market, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana have continued to make cocoa the mainstay of their economies, and are now the world’s leading and second largest producers. This deeply empirical study, based specifically on documentary research, takes stock of cocoa growing in the two countries from 1980 to 2015. It also looks at the economic impact of this cash crop in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana from the start of the economic crisis in the 1980s to 2015. 

Keywords

cocoa, development, forest, production, income, area