**4. Socio-economic impacts of pesticides use on the cocoa industry**

In terms of output the CODAPEC programme was a tremendous success, because it was able to resuscitate cocoa production in Ghana. The country continues to benefit not only because of increased output, but also because of the high prices the crop is currently enjoying on the international market. Thus the benefits to the economy as a whole were obvious. What was not so obvious was the direct benefit to the cocoa farmers.

In order to assess the impact of the programme on these farmers, Abankwa *et. al* (2010), conducted a study in a typical cocoa-growing district, Ahafo Ano South, located at the north-western section of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The study found that while the farmers could not take their children to better basic schools, they were able to afford school uniforms and other basic educational needs for them. They also found that farmers were able and more willing to visit hospitals instead of self-medicating or using herbal treatment. The improvements brought about by the programme seemed to benefit more farmers with higher levels of education, the study showed.

One poignant conclusion of the study was that, while the price of cocoa was reviewed upwards every year over the first five years of the programme, these increments did not translate into increased purchasing power of farmers. They were not able to afford assets like radios, televisions, mattresses and vehicles any better, five years after the programme was started. Table 4 gives the nominal and actual farmers' income over the period 2001- 2005. While the nominal figures trend upwards annually as a result of the increases in cocoa price, the actual income (calculated using CPI of 1997 as base) goes down every year due to the effect of inflation.


Table 4. Variations in Farmers' Income, 2001-2005 (Source: Abankwa *et al.* 2010)

From the point of view of COCOBOD, the implementers of the programe, the mass spraying exercise has been a roaring success, because of the increased yield it has generated, the renewed enthusiasm for cocoa cultivation that it has awoken in farmers, and also because of the 60,000 direct jobs it has created for sprayers, supervisors and mechanics in the rural areas of the country (Adjinah and Opoku, 2010). According to the Seed Production Unit of COCOBOD, demand for planting materials has gone up significantly because new farms are been established and old ones rejuvenated (Adjinah and Opoku, 2010). Farmers now clearly see cocoa farming as a profitable venture, especially with the continued reduction in inflation and the general improvement in the economy.
