The members of the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa (SWISSCO) have set an ambitious target in their Roadmap 2030: “All cocoa farming households with viable farm sizes and sustainable yields earn at least a living income.”
Achieving this goal requires current data on the income of cocoa farming households. To this end, the Cocoa Platform is conducting studies in cocoa-growing regions together with its partners.
55% of cocoa farming households do not earn a Living Income
The researchers looked at the 2024/25 cocoa season and found that farming households earned an average of GHS 61,577 (USD 4,433) a year, 85% of which came from cocoa. Still, 55% of households fell short of the Living Income Benchmark of GHS 60,188 (USD 4,333).
The living income gap for cocoa farmers in Ghana is therefore far from closed. This gap is the shortfall between actual household income and the Living Income Benchmark. On average, households faced a living income gap of GHS 42,559 (USD 3,064).
Closing the gap through cocoa alone, under 2024/25 conditions, would require roughly 37% higher yields (from 476 kg/ha to 652 kg/ha) or prices. Higher productivity, better prices and income diversification will therefore need to work together.
Recommendations for partners and companies
Based on the results, the study's authors, together with stakeholders in the cocoa landscape, make a number of recommendations. For instance, development partners and companies should support income diversification as a risk-management measure. This could mean demand-driven crops or other livelihoods. Such choices should be based on community needs assessments.
Partners and companies can also expand affordable, purpose-built credit by formalising Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), linking them to microfinance institutions, and continuing company loan schemes.
This recent study is a follow-up study. In 2024, a first study by the Cocoa Platform and its partners found that cocoa farmers in Ghana faced significant economic challenges.
Read the short or long version of the recently published study.