Discussion On The Cocoa Crop Production And The Process Of Agriculture Reforming In Ghana

The Republic of Ghana was a colony of the British Empire before it achieved independence in 1957, and it was the wealthiest Black African country at that time. It was enrich with the green gold --cocoa, with which the country became wealthy. Ghana was an agricultural country when it was in the colonial times, and cocoa was the prop of the agricultural economy. Before the cocoa obtained the development, Ghana was in the self-sufficient traditional farming society with low productive force levels and primitive farming flavor. The huge development of cocoa in the 1820s and 1830s emancipated the productive forces and had brought the entire development in agriculture and the whole nation. In the process of development in productive forces, many modern agriculture characteristic and the capitalism featuring with new system, new method, and new thought appeared, such as the employment system--Abusa, mortgaged system as well as part mechanization in agricultural production, improvement of varieties, and so on. The introduction, development and establishment of these new systems, new method and new thoughts were indeed the development and establishment of the Ghana's modern agriculture.This paper is divided into three parts including the preface, main text and conclusion. In addition, the main text is subdivided into three chapters.In the first chapter, each advantage in Ghana's development of cocoa crop production is presented in detail. Firstly, the physical geography circumstances which were suitable for the cocoa to grow and the general run of cocoa's growth are elaborated; Then the second factor that is favorable for the crop production of cocoa's development is pointed out, that is the original foundation and the engineering factor, like the possession of the experience and technology for planting crops, support and help from the colonial government as well as the unceasing consummation of traffic equipment. However, if there is no huge demand of cocoa from the world market, all these might have become the decorations. Then, the function and history of cocoa as well as the cocoa's drink in Europe's dissemination and development are shown.From the second chapter, the subject is presented. The first part outlines the traditional agricultural land system--tribe system of ownership and the three main land usage modes based on this system: stool land, family land and public land. Then in order to restore the original state of Ghana's tradition rural economy before the cocoa's huge development so as to make contrast to the hereafter-rural economy, the production organization structure under this kind of land system is elaborated. Based on this, the second part presents the cocoa's promotion and fast development in Ghana in the colonial times in order to explain the enormous influence of the cocoa's crop production on the Ghana national economy, especially the rural economy. And the upholstery for the reforming of Ghana's countryside is made.The third chapter is what's this paper's key point lies. In this chapter, the Ghana agriculture reforming process as well as the modern agriculture preliminary formation is elaborated, and the agricultural reforming process is the most important one. The disintegration of cocoa planting to customary land system is elaborated from the aspects of land commercialization, chief commercialization and colonial government's agrarian policy. The organizational structure of the social production has also been changed along with the original land system's disintegration. The cropping system achieved the improvement, the productive labor relations transformed, and the capitalism factor penetrated deeply. The change occurring in this rural economy is precisely the concrete manifestation from Ghana traditional farming to the modern agriculture reforming. With continuation of change, reforming proceeded thoroughly, the employment system was finally established, the new countryside social class relations formed, and the Ghana modern agriculture preliminary formed. In the last part of this chapter, the relation between cocoa and Ghana's modern agriculture development have been outlined. It is pointed out that the cocoa was still Ghana's major economic prop after the independence. But the cocoa economy's development had caused Ghana's sole system economic structure, which finally urges the Ghana economy to be unhealthy.