Financial literacy of cocoa farmers in Ghana

Abstract

Approximately 800,000 farm families are spread over six of ten regions of Ghana while empirical evidence on cocoa farmers' financial literacy remains sparse. This study examines the level of personal finance literacy among cocoa farmers. It also examines whether gender, age, level of education and farm size are related to cocoa farmers' financial literacy. A structured questionnaire is employed to collect data from randomly selected 569 cocoa farmers in the Assin Foso and Twifo Praso districts of the Central region. We use logistic regression analysis to estimate whether cocoa farmers' demographic variables are related to their level of financial literacy. We find that cocoa farmers have lower levels of financial knowledge. The level of financial literacy of cocoa farmers in Ghana is also related to their geographical location, age and education levels. This study provides stakeholders in the finance industry with vital information that will enhance decision making and policy directions. This study contributes to the literature of financial literacy from the perspective of cocoa farmers in Ghana, a Sub-Sahara Africa country.