This morning, and probably against my better judgement, I decided to follow the debates surrounding the recent tanking of cocoa farm gate prices in Ghana. As expected, it was again almost all about the crippling, debilitating, partisan, binary, zero-sum game: whodunnit and ‘who-do-we-hail-or-threaten-to-jail-for-what-we-don’t-even-know-yet’. Damp squib! Do these people even talk to each other?
END OF STORY?
So I went to my two favourite AI tools to have separate debates with the machines. I played one’s arguments against the other, in the hope that they aren’t communicating with each other behind my back.
I put to them my long-held theory: Ghana must absolutely learn from what I consider the Ethiopian Arabica coffee model, by which their coffee commands high prices not only due to quality and speciality demand but also to strong local consumption (there are 150 million Ethiopians and an estimated 90% of adults there who regularly drink coffee), which strengthens its market position and pricing power.
The machines and I have been arguing back and forth. Politely. They have even learned from me, and preface what they send to me with the very Ghanaian opening, ‘please’. But we finally agreed on the following things that Ghana could do, learning from the Ethiopian experience:
Build a National Cocoa Culture
Ethiopia didn’t just export coffee; it made coffee an identity. Ghana must make chocolate and cocoa drinks everyday staples, not occasional treats. A product consumed at home gains resilience abroad.
Expand Local Processing and SMEs
Exporting raw beans exports jobs and margins. Grinding, manufacturing and branding at home multiply value. Ghana should deliberately move local value addition from near negligible levels toward 25–30% over time. That shift means jobs, skills and pricing power.
Target the Mass Market
Premium chocolate alone will not transform the sector. Scale comes from affordable products for ordinary households. Volume builds industries; elites do not.
Build a Serious “Made-in-Ghana” Brand
Ghanaian cocoa is respected globally. Ghanaian chocolate is not. That gap is strategic failure. Coming up with the brand name ‘Golden Tree’ was genius, but, I’m sorry, the actual product isn’t gold standard. The goal must shift from “we grow cocoa” to “we produce world-class chocolate.”
Align Policy with Market Creation
Domestic demand does not emerge accidentally. It is engineered. Tax incentives, structured procurement for schools, public institutions, events, hotels, and restaurants, plus consistent regulatory support could anchor a stable internal market. The days-old announcements of reform are welcome. But we have heard it all before. Implementation is what counts.
CONCLUDING THOUGHT
Success is not natural or organic; it is deliberate and intentional. If Ethiopia could turn culture into economic leverage, Ghana can do the same with cocoa. The alternative is to keep arguing about prices while exporting opportunity.
But what do I know? I’m just a busybody of a prematurely semi-retired lawyer who would rather argue with machines than with humans. So kindly reject this with all the contempt it deserves, also because I did this while drinking a cup of Ethiopian Arabic coffee that my friend Dr Takyi brought to me yesterday after his return from Ethiopia. Black. No sugar. No cream. Yup, I like my poisons pure.
©️ they call me ‘Ace’
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