Cocoa Farmers’ Perceptions of Drought and Adaptive Strategies in the Ghana–Togo Transboundary Cocoa Belt

Afi Amen Christèle Attiogbé, Udo Nehren (), Emmanuel Quansah, Enoch Bessah, Seyni Salack, Jean Mianikpo Sogbedji and Sampson K. Agodzo
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Afi Amen Christèle Attiogbé: West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (WASCAL KNUST), Kumasi AK-385-1973, Ghana
Udo Nehren: Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics (ITT), Faculty of Spatial Development and Infrastructure Systems, University of Applied Sciences, 50679 Cologne, Germany
Emmanuel Quansah: Department of Meteorology and Climate Science, College of Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi AK-385-1973, Ghana
Enoch Bessah: Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi AK-385-1973, Ghana
Seyni Salack: WASCAL Competence Center, West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL CoC), Ouagadougou 9507, Burkina Faso
Jean Mianikpo Sogbedji: Department of Soil Sciences, Université de Lomé, Lomé 01 BP 1515, Togo
Sampson K. Agodzo: Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi AK-385-1973, Ghana

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-20

Abstract: This study investigated the perception of drought by cocoa farmers and explored the effectiveness of adaptive strategies (ASs) used in smallholding farms in the transboundary region between Ghana and Togo. Drought significantly threatens cocoa production in this region, affecting farmers’ livelihoods and cocoa supply chains. This study used a multistage sampling approach, which involved surveys with questionnaires administered to 330 cocoa farmers throughout the study area, along with on-site observations. Statistical analysis included binary logistic and Poisson regression models to explore the relationship between farmer socioeconomic characteristics and adaptation practices. The findings revealed that cocoa farmers in the region have a nuanced understanding of drought, attributed to changing climatic patterns and unsustainable land management practices such as deforestation. To mitigate its impacts, farmers employ a variety of ASs, including investment in farm management, soil management, and intercropping with crop diversification. Furthermore, socioeconomic factors, including age, formal education, household size, land tenure right, adaptation cost assessment, and an underestimation of self-efficacy, were shown to affect the choice in the AS. Among the ASs adopted, only farm management practices (weeding, pruning, fertilizer application, etc.) significantly improved the cocoa yield. This study contributes to understanding drought as a critical issue for cocoa farmers and the adaptation practices used by smallholder cocoa farmers. Given that among the strategies adopted, only farm management practices, also known as good agricultural practices (GAPs), significantly improves yield, this study recommends well-designed and innovative packages of sustainable farm management based on farm and owner characteristics. These include irrigation schemes, timely soil fertilizer monitoring and supply, and the provision of drought-resistant varieties along with technical itineraries. Additional interventions require drought emergency responses, with other factors such as education and financial support mechanisms expected to improve farmers’ timely decision-making to adapt and improve cocoa production resilience to drought episodes in international transboundary regions with complex governance structures.

Keywords: cocoa farming; adaptation strategies; smallholding farms; Ghana; Togo (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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