Ghana: Working together? The limits of local producer’s groups

Encouraging local producers to form co-operative groups has been an important part of development policy in Africa. Such co-operative projects can help to reduce poverty in remote areas and give members greater control over their livelihoods. However, the benefits may be short-term. A paper from the University of Middlesex draws on a survey of isolated regions of Ghana to assess the usefulness of producer’s co-operatives. The author found many examples of farmers working together without external support to negotiate prices with traders and to maintain roads required to get to markets. Trust and respect for rules are most apparent in areas where the authority of traditional chiefs and elders remains un-contested. Building trust and co-operation, the report argues, is a long-term process dependent on members being given the time and space to develop and enforce simple and flexible rules.