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  • How important is oil palm to Ghana's economy?
  • Introduction Oil palm ( Elaeis guineensis) has long been of strategic importance to Ghana’s national economy. However, despite its significance as the country’s second most important cash crop, the sector has consistently underperformed, with production unable to meet the domestic demand.
  • Does political economy affect oil palm value chain development in Ghana?
  • The paper argues that political economy factors have hindered the development of the oil palm value chain in Ghana, which has consistently underperformed despite significant policy support and the sector's strategic importance to the national economy.
  • How big is palm oil in Ghana?
  • For Ghana, smallholders palm oil area is approximately 290,000 hectares (81 percent of total area) and large-scale industrial estates is about 70,000 hectares (19 percent of total).
  • How many palm oil mills are there in Ghana?
  • MASDAR (2011) reports there were more than 1,200 small-scale processing mills in Ghana producing approximately 60 percent of the national palm oil output. Côte d’Ivoire has 16 large-scale mills competing with numerous small-scale (artisan) and medium-scale mills (AIPH, 2022).
  • How much palm oil does Côte d'Ivoire produce in 2022/23?
  • Palm oil production for marketing year (MY) 2022/23 is forecast at a record 600,000 metric tons (mt) for Côte d’Ivoire, and a record 300,000 mt for Ghana. Harvested area for Côte d’Ivoire is forecast at a record 300,000 hectares (ha), while harvested area for Ghana is forecast at 360,000 ha.
  • How did corruption affect palm oil production in Ghana?
  • The resulting corruption and mismanagement undermined efforts to promote the value chain ( Gyasi 1992 ). Together with the ever-present problem of inadequate financial resources, which only grew worse in the 1970s, these factors effectively frustrated Ghana’s efforts to produce enough palm oil to meet the domestic demand.