I spoke with Mr. Kofi Nimako, the operations manager  and Mr. Kwame Owusu, the finance manager of Kuapa Kokoo, Ltd. (KKL), the licensed buying company that forms the commercial arm of the Kuapa Kokoo Farmer’s Union. The system of private licensed buying agents was developed as part of the liberalization projects of the early 1990s (1993). As a matter of fact, KKL came into being as a reaction to this process. There are around 30 licensed buying companies in Ghana but the number fluctuates as new ones emerge while others disappear. KKL is the only cooperative-owned company. Continue reading “On the trail of cocoa in Ghana”
The Basics of Kuapa Kokoo
The Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union (KKFU) is a cooperative organization for cocoa farmers in Ghana. Its origin lies in the liberalization of the internal cocoa trade implemented by the government of Ghana in the early 1990s. Its founder, Nana Frimpong Abebrese, had represented cocoa farmers at the Cocoa Marketing Board of Ghana and he worried about the impact of liberalization on cocoa farmers throughout the country. Continue reading “The Basics of Kuapa Kokoo”
My Visit to Kuapa Kokoo in Ghana
I’ve been offline for a while because I had the opportunity to visit my favorite cocoa growers cooperative - Kuapa Kokoo – in Kumasi, Ghana. There is lots to report and I will post various bits and pieces here in the coming days. The trip was an amazing experience and the reception by Kuapa Kokoo representatives and members was warm. I had the chance to interview some of the top leadership at the headquarters and visit one of the village societies (the basic building blocks of the cooperative) at Boakyeasua in the Brong-Ahafo Region to the West of Kumasi. Overall, I got great insight into the way the cocoa economy works in Ghana.
