The development process is complex and rarely proceeds linearly. In Ghana, there was relative deterioration from independence until the early 1980s; much of its economic growth took place from the mid 1980s to the present. For example, cocoa had long been an important part of Ghana’s economy,but it went into decline when state marketing
boards (described in Chapter 9) limited the price farmers received for cocoa, so as to subsidize industrialization. After farmers were allowed to receive a much higher price, and technical assistance was offered, output greatly increased particularly in two spurts in the late 1980s and early 2000s. Fertilizer use and improved varieties have diffused among
farmers (diffusion in Ghana for the case of pineapples is examined in Findings Box 9.1 in Chapter 9). Cocoa growing now provides a basic livelihood for over 700,000 farmers in Ghana.