To Survive Or To Die? Cross-Sectoral Analysis Of Mechanisms And Challenges Of Succession Planning By Agripreneurs In Ghana

Inspired by an aging agripreneur population and the economic importance of fishing and cocoa production, this study examined the mechanisms and challenges of succession planning by selected cocoa farmers and fishers in Ghana. The research approach was quantitative, and the design involved a descriptive cross-sectional survey involving a convenience sample of 141 cocoa farmers and fishers. Upon fulfilment of normality test requirements, analysis of means confirmed an aging agripreneur population. The predominant succession planning mechanism was relay succession. Fishers acknowledged pair trawling, closed season policy and depletion of fish stock to constitute the three leading challenges of succession planning. Cocoa farmers identified limited availability of committed successors, cost of training a successor and time constraint as the top three succession planning challenges. Per principal component analysis, the leading cluster of the fishers’ succession planning challenges constitutes direct factors. That of the cocoa farmers is an interplay between direct and indirect factors. Persistence of these challenges would heighten the tendency of the enterprises to ‘die’ upon the demise of the agripreneurs and threaten the sustainability of the two industries. Sustenance of the industries would require extensive long-term public policy on making the sectors attractive to the youth, for instance through mechanization support and tax incentives.