Governance of organizational innovations in the cocoa value chain in Ghana

Since the mid-2000s, the cocoa sector has witnessed the emergence of various sustainability initiatives by connecting millions of smallholder farmers in the cocoa value chain with global markets. However, the viability of these initiatives is contingent on the governance structure and the power allocation among market actors within these sustainability standards value chains. There is considerable literature to suggest that there is power asymmetry in agriculture commodity value chains in favor of downstream actors and to the detriment of upstream actors. Therefore, the concern is whether the governance mechanism deployed by the sustainability standards in Ghana's cocoa value chain has the potential to shift the value chain's value division in favor of smallholder cocoa producers. This paper applies the social network analysis tool to examine the governance and power dynamics among the actors in Ghana's cocoa value chain. Relevant data were obtained using focus group discussions (FGDs). We conclude that direct connectivity is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for cooperative bargaining power. Strong internal cooperative leadership, governance and direct engagement of external buyers through international trade exhibition and origin tours are conditions sufficient for bargaining power. To attain this goal, long-term investment and institutional transformation are required.