Akuafo Cheque System: A Case Study

Agriculture is a dynamic industry, influenced by climatic conditions, technological, market developments as well as government intervention.
In the cocoa industry, nothing remains static for long. For example, market conditions keep on changing from one sales period to the next, while weather patterns undergo changes as well as food and cash production. The cocoa tree whose pod yields the cocoa beans comes from the tropical forest of the Upper Amazon Basin of South America, and also of the coastal strip west of the Andes.
The earliest recorded planting of seeds was by the Dutch missionaries in 1815 in the dry coastal belt of Ghana, but the venture was unsuccessful. In 1857 the Basel Missionaries made a second attempt at Aburi which was recorded as flourishing in

Thus, the introduction of the Akuafo cheque system eliminated the inability of the board to pay for produce purchased.
The working of the cheque was simple. The operation of the cheque system was simple, and was prepared in triplicates. The farmer presents the original and the duplicate to the nearest bank of his choice within their district or society where they opened an account. They can withdraw all or part of the money. It was a better deal to the farmers because they were encouraged to save against future hazards such as fire outbreaks, robbery, and theft, destruction by termites, rainstorm and flood. Additionally, this opened the farmers up to short term as well as long term access to loans used during the off seasons.
As part of the restructuring, it was envisaged that model shops were to be opened or located in the vicinities of the various banks where farmers cash their money and purchase inputs. The idea was to bring the farmers as close as possible to all the needed inputs, to enable them cash their monies to buy