Peasantry and political power : a case study of peasant cocoa farmers in Ghana

Abstract

The thesis studies the cocoa hold-up organized by Ghana's peasant cocoa farmers in 1937-38. Analytically contextualized in the development theories of structuralism, concepts of comparative advantage and international division of labour, the thesis makes the following points: first, that cocoa production incorporated Ghana's economy into the international market economy in a dependent, mono-crop exporting peripheral position. Second, that the introduction and spread of this export-crop introduced profound socio-economic changes into Ghana's agrarian economy.

The changes include a monetized economy, shifts in traditional concepts and practices of land holding and use, a reorganized social structure. These changes altogether produced a new segment of rich and empowered farmers and western-educated elites, nouveaux riches. Together, these nouveaux riches led successful peasant/grassroot challenges against colonial economic and political policies. These socio-economic protests largely marked the early stages of modern trade unionism and peasant political activism in Ghana.

Finally, the thesis establishes that the main factors that led to the 1937-38 hold-up have still not been addressed by Ghana's modern-day governments. These factors are collectively expressed in the absence of an integrated technology-based cocoa industry and a rewarding cocoa producer prices. In part, this explains why Ghana's economy continues to be a mere appendage within the structure and control system of the world economy.