Determinants of the Adoption of Additional Livelihoods among Smallholder Cocoa Farmers in the Sefwi Akontombra Cocoa District of Ghana

Abstract

Although the production of cocoa in Ghana sustains the economy, its quantity has not been stable in the past. This instability in the quantity of cocoa produced can be attributed to climatic conditions and other human-induced factors such as Galamsey. In the Sefwi Akontombra cocoa district, one leading cause of the reduction of cocoa is the infestation of the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD). Farmers Business School has been one medium through which farmers are educated on how to make farming a business however, various factors seem to limit farmers decisions to adopt these additional livelihoods. Hence, the main objective of the study was to explore the various factors that hindered farmers' decision to adopt additional livelihoods. Employing the simple random sampling method, 410 farmers were selected for the study. A binary Logistic regression model was employed to establish relationships between Additional Livelihoods and the various factors that hinder its adoption. The study revealed that Good Agronomy Practices such as annual pruning, annual fertilizer application, and annual pollination were practiced by farmers. Regardless of this GAP, the quantity of cocoa beans produced annually per hectare has been reduced from 2017 to 2021. The study also revealed that farmers who have adopted additional livelihoods have their income level increased, food security, and general livelihood increased. Most of the farmers (70.7%) were not regular at Farmers Business School which seems to be a reason why the majority have not adopted additional livelihoods. Other factors such as environmental, socio-cultural, and economic were significant at 0.05 significant level. However, personal factors were not significant at either 0.1, 0.05, or 0.01. The study recommends that farmers should be frequent participants in Farmers Business School.