Postharvest Handling Practices and Quality of Cocoa Beans from Major Cocoa Growing Regions in Ghana

A study was conducted to assess the various handling practices of cocoa beans in some selected districts across cocoa growing regions in Ghana. The study adopted the cross-sectional design which employed varying respondents from seven cocoa growing regions for the data collection. The survey was carried out from January to February, 2021. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the needed information from the cocoa farmers. Four hundred (400) cocoa farmers were sampled from a population of 1,691,676. Simple proportion was used to determine percentage of farmers to be randomly selected as respondents for each region. The data was analysed using SPSS at 95% confidence level. The study revealed that 46% of the cocoa farmers were within the ages of 41-61, 34% were 20-40 years old with 20% being above 62 years. Majority (67%) of the farmers harvested at full ripe stage, whereas the remaining 33% harvested at half ripe. After harvest, majority (80%) of the farmers broke their cocoa pods after 4 days of harvest, whereas 15% and 5% broke the pods within 2 days and 3-4 days after harvest respectively. In addition, majority (90%) of the farmers used heap method of fermentation. Moreover, 72% of the farmers fermented their cocoa beans between 6-7 days, 20% 4-5 days and 4% between 2-3 days. All the farmers interviewed indicated that they sun-dried their cocoa beans. This practice was done by all farmers interviewed. Farmers who are non-compliant to the use of recommended handling practices should be encouraged to conform to ensure the production of quality cocoa beans. These findings have provided a justification for an intensified education of farmers and increased monitoring of the activities of all stakeholders in the cocoa industry.