3071-The political economy of new slavery

Amanda Berlan 161
to 531,250 Cedis 1 per bag, which represented a considerable price
increase from the previous main season price of 274,000 Cedis per bag. 2
As Ghana has a fixed-price policy for cocoa the producers are not
directly exposed to the surges and slumps of the world market, although
the state is, of course, more likely to offer farmers an attractive price
if the world price is high.
Given the complexity of the issues described above, most of which are
specific to Ghana, a certain amount of confusion is understandable.
This confusion is unfortunately only reinforced by campaigning organizations
making claims such as:
The Ghanaian government used to set the purchase price for cocoa,
and it varied according to the international market. When prices went
down, the cocoa farmers in Kumasi earned less, and often struggled
to support their families. Now the farmers have got round this problem
by selling their cocoa to Fair Trade organizations around the
world.
Fair Trade buyers pay the farmers promptly and give them a guaranteed
price usually higher than the market rate – known as the Fair
Trade premium – making their way of life more sustainable. 3
Farmers who are members of this Fair Trade co-operative do not receive
a significantly better price than the government-set market rate, as the
$150 for Fair Trade chocolate is invested in a fund to be spent on community
projects such as the installation of piped water. Cocoa farmers
who are members of Kuapa Kokoo co-operative only receive a very
small amount (normally 1,000 Cedis) above what other farmers receive.
It is also worth noting that Kuapa Kokoo is not the only cocoa-buying
company offering rewards to its farmers and that most companies
donate farming equipment or provide valuable services to the farmers
such as training in farming methods. However, Kuapa Kokoo is unique
for being based on values such as participatory democracy and gender
equality, and arguably offers more regular and generous returns.
The real pricing issue for cocoa farmers in Ghana, which is linked to
good governance rather than market forces, is what percentage of the
world market price the government has granted them. In this respect,
the farmers have been badly treated, as historically their share of the
world price has been very low. In 1983–4, for example, the price given to
cocoa producers by their government represented as little as 21 per cent
of the world market price. In 2000, prior to a change in government, the
farmers were still only receiving 57.5 per cent of the world market value