The Impact of Sales Promotion by Cocoa Licensed Buying Companies on Sales of Farmers in Wassa Amenfi East District of Ghana

Aims: The study sought to assess the effects of sales promotional programmes on cocoa sales of farmers by Licensing Buying Companies (LBCs) in the district. The main aim of the research was to identify the influence of sales promotions on the purchases of LBCs in Wassa Amenfi East Cocoa District. Specifically, the study sought to achieve the following objectives. (1)To identify the incentive programmes made available to cocoa farmers by Licensed Buying Companies in Wassa Amenfi East District. (2) To analyse the sales trend of cocoa in the Wassa Amenfi East District by the Licensing Buying Companies. (3) To identify the challenges associated with farmer incentive programmes as a marketing strategy in the Wassa Amenfi East District. (4) To assess how incentive programmes affect the purchases of Licensing Buying Companies (LBC’s) in the District. (5) To propose ways of improving cocoa purchases in the Wassa Amenfi East District.

Study Design: A case study was used to investigate into this phenomenon to give generalization of that phenomenon. Again, the study did an in-depth review on the subject in Ghana to augment and validate empirical findings. Moreover, the study adopted a more scientific method in collecting and analyzing data for presentation. The research used both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis. The intent of using quantitative method for this study was to establish, confirm, or validate relationships and to develop generalizations that contribute to theory. Qualitative method was used for this study because, it is less structured in description and it formulates and builds new theories. This made the findings of the study both valid and reliable.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was focused on cocoa marketing activities in the Wassa Amenfi East District in the Western Region of Ghana between March 2013 and June 2013.

Methodology: Data for the study was obtained from both primary and secondary sources. Purposive Sampling, Simple random sampling and Snow ball sampling techniques were used to select the purchasing clerks, cocoa farmers and district managers respectively. The District has thirty three thousand, five hundred and twenty four (33,524) cocoa farmers, fourteen (14) Licensing Buying Companies and about two hundred and sixty-one (261) purchasing clerks. The data was collected from one hundred and fifty-five (155) respondents who were cocoa farmers in addition to ninety eight (98) Purchasing Clerks (PCs) and fourteen (14) district managers of the various Licensing Buying Companies. The data was collated, synthesized and analyzed with the use of SPSS and Excel. The study adopted the quantitative analyses (Regression Analysis).

Results: The analyses have shown that the provision of fertilizer to farmers by LBCs is one most important sales promotional package that greatly influences farmers’ decision to sell to a particular LBC. According to a Focus Group Discussion with Farmers, it was discovered that farmrelated sales promotional inputs such as fertilizers helps farmers to increase their productivity. Sales promotional programmes also increase the purchases of cocoa by PCs of LBCs and influence the choice of LBCs by the cocoa farmer. Fertilizers assist farmers to reduce their expenditure and thus keep the providing LBC in remembrance during the cocoa seasons.

Conclusion: The study therefore recommended that there should be timely supply of Sales Promotional Programmes, development of mechanism to check default, motivation of PCs by LBCs and equity in the Distribution of Sales Promotional Packages.