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Assessing Climate Smart Agriculture and Its Determinants of Practice in Ghana: A Case of the Cocoa Production System

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  • Felix Akrofi-Atitianti

    (Institute of Geography, University of Bonn, Meckenheimer Allee 166, 53115 Bonn, Germany
    Institute for Environment and Human Security, United Nations University, Platz der Vereinten Nationen 1, 53113 Bonn, Germany)

  • Chinwe Ifejika Speranza

    (Institute of Geography, University of Bonn, Meckenheimer Allee 166, 53115 Bonn, Germany
    Institute for Environment and Human Security, United Nations University, Platz der Vereinten Nationen 1, 53113 Bonn, Germany
    Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Hallerstrasse 12, 3012 Bern, Switzerland)

  • Louis Bockel

    (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy)

  • Richard Asare

    (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, PMB L56, Legon, Ghana)

Abstract

Agriculture in Africa is not only exposed to climate change impacts but is also a source of greenhouse gases (GHGs). While GHG emissions in Africa are relatively minimal in global dimensions, agriculture in the continent constitutes a major source of GHG emissions. In Ghana, agricultural emissions are accelerating, mainly due to ensuing deforestation of which smallholder cocoa farming is largely associated. The sector is also bedevilled by soil degradation, pests, diseases and poor yields coupled with poor agronomic practices. Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) thus offers a way to reduce the sector’s GHG emissions and to adapt the sector to the adverse impacts of climate change. This study assesses the potential of CSA vis-à-vis conventional cocoa systems to enhance production, mitigate and/or remove GHG emissions and build resilience, in addition to understanding key determinants influencing CSA practices. Using a mixed methods approach, data was collected in Ghana’s Juabeso and Atwima Mponua districts through semi-structured household questionnaires administered to 80 household heads of cocoa farms, two focus group discussions and expert interviews. A farm budget analysis of productivity and economic performance for both scenarios show that CSA practitioners had a 29% higher income per ha compared to the conventional farmers. Estimations using the FAO Ex-Ante Carbon-Balance Tool (EX-ACT) indicate CSA practices preserve forest resources without which the effect on carbon balance as presented by conventional farming would remain a source of GHG emissions. Farm tenure, age of farmers, location of farm, residential status and access to extension services were the main determining factors influencing CSA practices among cocoa farmers. An in-depth understanding of these indicators can help identify ways to strengthen CSA strategies in the cocoa sector and their contributions to climate change mitigation and resilience.

Suggested Citation

  • Felix Akrofi-Atitianti & Chinwe Ifejika Speranza & Louis Bockel & Richard Asare, 2018. "Assessing Climate Smart Agriculture and Its Determinants of Practice in Ghana: A Case of the Cocoa Production System," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-21, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:7:y:2018:i:1:p:30-:d:134667
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Knowler, Duncan & Bradshaw, Ben, 2007. "Farmers' adoption of conservation agriculture: A review and synthesis of recent research," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 25-48, February.
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    1. Sheona Shackleton & Vanessa Masterson & Paul Hebinck & Chinwe Ifejika Speranza & Dian Spear & Maria Tengö, 2019. "Editorial for Special Issue: “Livelihood and Landscape Change in Africa: Future Trajectories for Improved Well-Being under a Changing Climate”," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-8, July.
    2. Sarpong, D. B. & Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe & Minh, Thai & Cofie, Olufunke, 2022. "Sustainable financing ecosystem for cocoa irrigation in Ghana: a literature review," IWMI Books, Reports H051654, International Water Management Institute.
    3. Victor O. Abegunde & Ajuruchukwu Obi, 2022. "The Role and Perspective of Climate Smart Agriculture in Africa: A Scientific Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-15, February.
    4. Victor O. Abegunde & Melusi Sibanda & Ajuruchukwu Obi, 2020. "Mainstreaming Climate-Smart Agriculture in Small-Scale Farming Systems: A Holistic Nonparametric Applicability Assessment in South Africa," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-18, February.
    5. Haruna Sekabira & Ghislain T. Tepa-Yotto & Rousseau Djouaka & Victor Clottey & Christopher Gaitu & Manuele Tamò & Yusuf Kaweesa & Stanley Peter Ddungu, 2022. "Determinants for Deployment of Climate-Smart Integrated Pest Management Practices: A Meta-Analysis Approach," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-19, July.
    6. Wongnaa, Camillus Abawiera & Babu, Suresh, 2020. "Building resilience to shocks of climate change in Ghana's cocoa production and its effect on productivity and incomes," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    7. Casmir Ndukaku Anyaegbu & Kingsley Ezechukwu Okpara & Wirach Taweepreda & David Akeju & Kuaanan Techato & Robert Ugochukwu Onyeneke & Saran Poshyachinda & Siwatt Pongpiachan, 2022. "Impact of Climate Change on Cassava Yield in Nigeria: An Autoregressive Distributed Lag Bound Approach," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, December.
    8. Mashi, Sani Abubakar & Inkani, Amina Ibrahim & Oghenejabor, Obaro Dominic, 2022. "Determinants of awareness levels of climate smart agricultural technologies and practices of urban farmers in Kuje, Abuja, Nigeria," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    9. William Adzawla & Hamdiyah Alhassan, 2021. "Effects of climate adaptation on technical efficiency of maize production in Northern Ghana," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 9(1), pages 1-18, December.
    10. Xiaocang Xu & Lu Zhang & Linhong Chen & Chengjie Liu, 2020. "The Role of Soil N 2 O Emissions in Agricultural Green Total Factor Productivity: An Empirical Study from China around 2006 when Agricultural Tax Was Abolished," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-13, May.
    11. Wongnaa, Camillus Abawiera & Nti, Emmanuel Kwame & Acheampong, Patricia Pinamang & Bannor, Richard Kwasi & Babu, Suresh Chandra, 2021. "The Shift from Crop Production to Mining Activities in Arable Lands: Evidence from Ghana," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 314946, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    12. Lee, Haeun & Park, Mi Sun, 2023. "Transformation of the global governance in the cocoa sector with three characteristics: Diversification, flexibilization, and coordination," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    13. Victor O. Abegunde & Melusi Sibanda & Ajuruchukwu Obi, 2019. "Determinants of the Adoption of Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices by Small-Scale Farming Households in King Cetshwayo District Municipality, South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-27, December.
    14. Roberto Louis Forestal & Shih-Ming Pi, 2021. "Using Artificial Neural networks and Optimal Scaling Model to Forecast Agriculture Commodity Price: An Ecological-economic Approach," Advances in Management and Applied Economics, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 11(3), pages 1-3.
    15. Marije Schaafsma & Ilda Dreoni & Lacour Mody Ayompe & Benis Egoh & Dewa Putu Ekayana & Arilson Favareto & Sonny Mumbunan & Louise Nakagawa & Jonas Ngouhouo‐poufoun & Marieke Sassen & Thiago Kanashiro , 2023. "A framework to understand the social impacts of agricultural trade," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 138-150, February.
    16. Alexis Rampa & Yiorgos Gadanakis & Gillian Rose, 2020. "Land Reform in the Era of Global Warming—Can Land Reforms Help Agriculture Be Climate-Smart?," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-24, November.
    17. Ebunoluwa O. Ajagun & George Ashiagbor & Winston A. Asante & Benjamin A. Gyampoh & Kwasi A. Obirikorang & Emmanuel Acheampong, 2022. "Cocoa eats the food: expansion of cocoa into food croplands in the Juabeso District, Ghana," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(2), pages 451-470, April.

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