Mr Senyo Kpelly, Chief Executive Officer of Savannah & Sahel Commodities Ltd, has described the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) as one of the most strategic interventions to drive Ghana’s economic diversification beyond cocoa.
He said the establishment of the Authority marked a turning point for crops such as cashew, coconut, oil palm, mango, rubber and shea, which were previously not given dedicated attention under existing structures.
“At first, shea for instance was managed under cocoa, and the focus was not mainly on shea. Now we have a dedicated government authority managing these crops, and that is a great development,” he said in an interview.
Mr Kpelly noted that cocoa currently contributes about $12 billion to the economy, and the vision of the TCDA was to develop the six priority crops often referred to as “SITCOMS” to generate at least $2 billion annually as a minimum target, with the long-term ambition of exceeding cocoa’s contribution.
He explained that the acronym “SITCOMS” represents coconut, cashew, oil palm, mango, rubber and shea.
According to him, Ghana already holds strong positions in several of the crops. He said Ghana’s coconut industry ranks among the top on the continent, while the shea industry is the most developed in Africa. Oil palm, rubber, mango and cashew also present significant growth potential.
Mr Kpelly stressed that achieving the “SITCOMS beyond cocoa” agenda would require deliberate investment in research and development (R&D), describing science as the foundation for sustainable value addition.
“R&D is the first step and also the foundation to achieve SITCOMS beyond cocoa. Without science, we cannot make any meaningful gains,” he said.
He observed that although Ghana had attracted investments into shea and cashew processing in recent years, much of the activity remained at the semi-value addition stage, with exports largely consisting of crude or partially processed products.
For example, he said crude palm oil, coconut oil, raw cashew nuts, semi-processed rubber and shea butter were exported in bulk, capturing limited value for the country.
“What the Authority wants is consumer-facing finished products,” he said, adding that exporting refined and branded products would significantly increase earnings.
Using shea as an example, he explained that raw shea nuts may earn about $1 per kilogram, while processed shea butter could fetch about $3 per kilogram. When further refined into cosmetics or used in chocolate production, the value could rise to between $6 and $10 per kilogram.
“The more value we add, the better for us and the more feasible it becomes to meet the vision of SITCOMS beyond cocoa,” he said.
Mr Kpelly also highlighted the employment potential of deeper value addition, noting that higher levels of processing require more specialised skills.
“If you export raw shea nuts, you need basic labour. If you produce shea butter, you need graduates. If you produce cosmetics, you need people trained in biochemistry. So as you add value, you create higher-quality jobs,” he said.
He said the TCDA strategy also included investments in traceability systems, certification, world-class processing factories and logistics infrastructure to position Ghana as a leading exporter in Africa in terms of both volume and quality.
Mr Kpelly, however, cautioned that the transformation would not happen within a short period.
“Three years is too short. R&D alone can take about three years. We need a long-term strategy 10, 20, even 30 years,” he said, expressing confidence that with proper planning and sustained investment, significant progress could be made within a decade.
He urged government to inject substantial resources into scientific research institutions and biochemistry departments to support innovation across the value chains of the six crops.
“The difference between Africa and countries like China, Europe and America is investment in science. Once we get the science right, the rest is easy,” he said.
He added that the development of tree crops also aligned with Ghana’s green growth ambitions, noting that the crops could be linked to carbon credit initiatives and climate-smart agriculture.
Mr Kpelly described the TCDA as a critical pillar of Ghana’s long-term economic strategy and called for strong leadership focus on science, innovation and value addition to fully unlock the potential of the country’s tree crops sector.
