History and Data Analyses of ‘Cutting Out’ Method for Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD) Control in Ghana

Abstract

Cocoa swollen shoot virus disease (CSSVD) has for over seven decades been managed in Ghana through the ‘cutting out method’. This procedure involves complete removal of infected cocoa trees together with neighbouring apparently healthy cocoa trees from affected farms and replanting with improved cocoa varieties tolerant to the virus. This method of control started in 1946 with the objective to eradicate and also limit the spread of the virus to only severely affected farms in Ghana. Farmers whose farms are ‘cut out’ of infected cocoa trees are assisted to regenerate their farms with improved cocoa varieties tolerant to the virus. In practice however, this approach have several times been opposed by farmers leading to its intermittent suspension. Farmers rather prefer to allow CSSV infected trees to remain on their farms to produce few pods as source of income than to allow them to be removed. Delayed funding of the programme coupled with or without payment of monetary compensation to farmers often results in time lags between outbreak identification and farmers willingness to allow infected trees to be removed. This among other challenges of the programme have accounted for the increased prevalence and the continuous spread of the disease in Ghana. This paper provides empirical analysis of cocoa tree removals from 1945/46 to 2013/2014 when the programme has been continuously implemented across the cocoa regions in Ghana and discusses some of the key challenges on the implementation of the ‘cutting out’ method and offers some perspectives for its use to manage the spread of the disease.