Comparing The Profitability Of Cassava-Based Production Systems In Three West African Countries: Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana And Nigeria

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) cassava-producing countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire have developed, in recent years, a renewed interest in cassava as an alternative food crop. This has led to a major expansion in cassava-based production systems in Nigeria and Ghana, whereas there has been a slower growth in Côte d'Ivoire (Nweke et al., 1998). This paper is based on the argument that the difference in various factors such as agricultural policies (i.e., trade and price policies, domestic production taxes or subsidies), location and technologies (production and processing) between Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire the difference in the level of growth in cassava-based production systems. The paper examines, using the Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM), the magnitude of the impact of these factors on the private and social profitability of cassava production and post-production processing in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria. The topic has not been examined in previous studies. The paper relies primarily on data for Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria from the Collaborative Study of Cassava in Africa (COSCA) survey. The baseline results demonstrate the similarity in efficiencies of production in these West African countries. The simulation findings indicated that, in Côte d'Ivoire, farmers benefited from the depreciation of the equilibrium exchange rate while farmers in Ghana and Nigeria suffered losses. Simulation results also indicated that Ivorian and Ghanaian cassava/maize farmers could benefit from growing IITA's improved variety and adopting mechanized processing methods.