Environmental impacts of cocoa production and processing in Ghana: life cycle assessment approach

Abstract

Ghana is the world's second largest producer of cocoa beans. In addition to exporting raw cocoa beans, the country also processes some of its beans into finished and semi-finished cocoa products for both the local and international markets. This paper is aimed at providing a comprehensive picture of the environmental impacts associated with cocoa production and processing in Ghana by applying the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The analysis considered the entire system required to produce and process 1 kg of cocoa bean. It included the extraction of raw materials (e.g. fossil fuels, minerals), the production of farming inputs (e.g. fertilizers and pesticides) and all agricultural operations in the field (e.g. tillage, fertilizer and pesticides application, harvest, etc.). Transportation of beans to processing factory and industrial processing of the beans into cocoa butter, liquor, cake and powder were also included. The study was conducted in accordance with the international ISO procedural framework for performing LCA in the ISO 14040–14043 series.

The overall environmental impacts resulting from cocoa production and processing activities and improvement options towards the sustainability of the system studied are presented and discussed.

Introduction

Cocoa, which is used mainly in the production of chocolate, is an important agricultural export commodity. Currently Ghana, producing about 700,000 tons of cocoa beans annually, is ranked second in the world, after her western neighbour Côte d'Ivoire. In terms of quality however, Ghana is recognized as the world leader in premium quality cocoa beans production. Cocoa serves as the major source of revenue for the provision of socio-economic infrastructure in the country. In terms of employment, the industry employs about 60% of the national agricultural labour force in the country [1]. For these farmers, cocoa contributes about 70–100% of their annual household incomes [2].

Improving the livelihood of farmers is a crucial aspect of government's plans for reducing poverty in Ghana. It has therefore been the intention of government, which is committed to reaping the maximum benefit from the cocoa sector, to ensure that the country increases its cocoa production and also processes more of the beans into downstream products for both the local and export markets [3]. In pursuance of this goal, the government in year 2001 initiated a nationwide Cocoa Disease and Pest Control Project (CODAPEC), to help address the two major causes of decline in cocoa production: pests and diseases. Under this programme, cocoa farms across the country were sprayed with insecticides and fungicides at no cost to the farmers. This exercise has resulted in tremendous increases in cocoa production from 340,562 metric tons in the 2001/02 season to 496,846 metric tons in 2002/03 and 736,000 metric tons in the 2003/04 seasons, respectively [1], [4].

The percentage of locally processed beans has also jumped from 20% to 35% with further re-capitalization and expansion programs underway to reach a target of 50% in the near future. The beans are normally processed into four semi-finished products, namely, cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, cocoa powder and cake; and a finished product, chocolate.

However, along with the positive effects of the CODAPEC programme, some negative impacts on the environment have also been caused. For instance the use of pesticides on the farms can lead to the destruction of part of the soil flora and fauna through both physical and chemical deterioration [5].

This study was aimed at providing a comprehensive picture of the environmental impacts associated with the current cocoa production and processing techniques in Ghana, using the life cycle assessment (LCA) tool. LCA determines the potential environmental impacts, throughout a product's life cycle, from raw material acquisition through production, use, end-of-life treatment, recycling and to final disposal (i.e. cradle-to-grave) [6].