Exploring Producer-Buyer Relationships: Organic Cocoa Production in the Eastern Region, Ghana

The cocoa sector is of vital importance to Ghana, employing millions of people and contributing important revenues to the government. However, Ghana’s cocoa sector faces persistent challenges, including low prices for producers and limited economic benefits despite rising global cocoa prices. Farmers are highly dependent on cocoa, with up to 80 percent of their annual income derived from the crop, making them vulnerable to structural changes in the market. In Ghana, there is no price competition between cocoa-buying companies due to state-regulated producer prices. As a result, producer-buyer relationships become central to securing market share, and cocoa buying companies have developed alternative strategies, such as providing non-monetary incentives to attract farmers. This masters’ thesis examines how producer-buyer relationships are shaped and negotiated within Ghana’s organic cocoa sector, focusing on the relationship between the Licensed Buying Company Yayra Glover Limited and its registered smallholder farmers. The research contributes to a gap in the literature how trust, loyalty, and non-monetary incentives influence producer-buyer relationships in a niche, organic certified market. Using a qualitative case study approach, data were collected in five cocoa-growing communities in the Suhum District, Eastern Region, through fourteen semi-structured interviews with farmers, members of Yayra Glover Limited, and a government official. Findings show that the regulated pricing system strongly influences the relationship, while initiatives such as organic premiums, training, and social support foster loyalty and trust. Nonetheless, smallholder farmers remain financially vulnerable. This case study demonstrates that the organic cocoa sector is shaped more by global market expectations than local dynamics, reflecting enduring colonial entanglements that continue to influence how producer-buyer relationships are structured and negotiated.