Climate-Smart Agriculture: Building A Resilient Cocoa Industry In Ghana

Abstract

The Study is a three-paper article dissertation. The purpose of the first paper is to examine smallholder farmer's perception of climate change in cocoa production in Ghana. The study employs shifts in environmental parameters—rainfall, temperature, and the duration of wet and dry seasons—to assess farmers' perceptions of climate change. The purpose of this study was to examine farmers’ perceptions to climate change and their relationship with socioeconomic and institutional factors. A systematic random procedure was used for this study. Multiple regression analysis and descriptive analysis including frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, and correlations were done. The findings indicated that most farmers observed variations in rainfall, temperature, and the duration of wet and dry seasons. Farmers’ perceived changes in climate corresponded with weather data from the study district. Farming experience and gender demonstrated a notable correlation with farmers' climate change perceptions. Farmers strongly agreed to be interested in learning about farm-level adaptation practices to climate change. Farmers also strongly agreed to take risks by changing their current farming practices to adopt climate change adaptive practices. The second paper examines smallholder farmers' perception of climate-smart agricultural practices as an adaptation practice to climate change in Cocoa production. The research employs Rogers' (2003) Diffusion of Innovations theory and the Theory of Planned Behavior to explain the socioeconomic and institutional determinants influencing the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices among cocoa farmers. A systematic random procedure was used for this study. Descriptive analysis including frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, and binary logistic regression were done. The majority of the farmers in this study were male (62,2%), have secondary education (47.2 %) and were between the age of 45-59 years old. Most farmers have received training (93%), were members of farmer groups (92%) and have access to extension services (98%). The findings further show that gender, education and training positively and significantly influence farmers’ adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices in the study communities. The third paper discusses an advisory paper focusing on the adoption of drip irrigation in Haiti, as a climate-smart technology. This paper is a conceptual framework paper employing Roger (2003) Diffusion of Innovation theory to explain the sets, challenges, and benefits to adopting drip irrigation for vegetable farmers in Haiti.

Keywords: Climate Change Perception, Cocoa (Theobroma cacao), Management Practices, Climate-Smart Agriculture, Extension Support, Socioeconomic Factors