Cover_Rebuilding West Africas Food Potential

52 Rebuilding West Africa’s food potential

2. Traditional export commodity model: historical overview
   and case studies

2.1 Overview

Colonial legacy

During the colonial period in West Africa, great efforts were made to introduce new value chains

deemed suitable for the agro-ecological conditions of the sub-region. The objective of the colonial

administrations was to launch new agricultural sectors with great demand potential in the processing

and consumption centres in Europe. The main crops introduced to the region were cocoa, coffee,

cotton and groundnuts (palm oil is native to the region) (Blein et al., 2008). The table below summarizes

the dates of introduction of these crops in the region.

Table 4. Commodities studied and their key characteristics (Cont.)

Commodity /

country

Key

actor(s)

Primary

market

Degree of

integration

Role of small-

holders

Potential for

growth

Traditional export

commodities

Cocoa

(Côte d’Ivoire)

State;

parastatals

Export

(Europe)

Vertical inte-

gration with

multinationals

Large; diverse size

of farmers; tied to

cocoa collection and

initial processing

Limited growth;

some recovery due to

improved prices; but

return is slow

Cotton (Mali) State;

parastatals

Export

(Europe)

Vertical

integration

up to exports

Numerous small-

scale producers;

closely linked with

cotton buyers

(inputs, prices)

Weak; prices; yields;

and changing relative

incentives are unlikely

to see a significant

return of cotton

Non-traditional high-value

export commodities

Banana

(Côte d’Ivoire)

Private;

agro-

industry

Export

(interna-

tional and

regional)

Integration

with Nordic

retailers

Two segment

market- small

scale excluded

from export

opportunities

Medium growth;

standards may be a

limiting factor

Pineapple

(Ghana)

Private;

agro-

industry

Export

(interna-

tional and

regional)

Integration

with Nordic

retailers

Two segment

market- small

scale excluded

from export

opportunities

Medium growth;

standards may be a

limiting factor

Staple food value chains

Cassava

(Ghana)

Private;

mostly

small scale

Domestic;

regional

Limited Smallholders

dominate the

value chain,

especially women

Huge potential

for growth; food

demand; industrial

demand

Maize

(Burkina Faso)

Private;

multiple

actors

Domestic;

regional;

multi-

market

outlets

Limited Smallholders

dominate the

value chain

especially women

Huge potential

for growth; food

demand; industrial

demand

Source: Authors