Bacterial Black Spot Disease and Its Effect on Agro Processing Firms: Evidence from Blue Skies Limited in Nsawam Adoagyiri Municipality

Abstract

Bacterial black spot disease is an incurable disease posing many challenges to stakeholders in the mango industry, and for fear it might collapse if appropriate measures are not taken. The study was conducted to determine the relationship between the BBS disease and its effect on agro processing firms in terms of adaptability and survival. The data for the study was collected based on interview guides and in-depth knowledge from external stakeholders in the Nsawam Municipality and key informant interviews with internal stakeholders at Blue Skies Limited, which employed purposive and convenience sampling techniques. A qualitative approach was used in providing the findings, where data collected through interview guides and audio recordings were transcribed, coded, analyzed, and errors corrected for validity. For the statistical purposes of the descriptive study of demographic characteristics, frequency tables were made available. Results were presented using the content analysis method, and the researcher directly cited comments from the voice recordings of in-depth and key informants under the thematic areas. The findings indicated that the BBS disease had a major negative influence on the natural fruit flavor during product production, and processing, that the quantity of fruit disease causes production schedule delays, that insufficient tonnage from infected stored mangoes is produced due to delayed disease discovery, and that periods of intense rainfall had a significant influence on the fruit-bearing flowering stage. Based on the study's findings, research and development, extension services, and information dissemination which would pave the way for the concepts of sustainable farming systems in the mango industry, adopted measures that both out-grower farmers and agro-processing firms can implement to reduce the prevalence and severity of the BBS disease.