Abstract
Despite Ghana’s large contribution to global cocoa production, average yields are low. Policymakers and practitioners are calling for implementation of a climate smart strategy by increasing yields and augmenting shade tree cover in cocoa systems. However, there have been few studies in West Africa on the relationship between shade and cocoa yield under field conditions. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of shade tree cover and other factors on on-farm cocoa yields over a four-year period. The study was conducted on 86 farm plots of 8–28 years’ cocoa trees with varied canopy cover (CC) in Ashanti and Western regions of Ghana. A linear mixed model analysis showed that yields increased significantly with increased CC of shade trees, and indicated a doubling of yields when going from zero to approximately 30% crown cover. Fertilizer use gave a yield increase of 7%. Farms located in Western region had higher yields compared to Ashanti, and cocoa systems on short fallows had lower yields than farms cultivated on recent forest clearings and old fallows. Fungicide use, seed sources and land ownership had no significant effects on yield. We conclude that for a sustainable climate-smart cocoa agenda, promotion of shade trees is key.
Highlights
Ghana is one of the top global producers of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.), but reported on-farm yields are among the lowest in the world at 400 kg/ha (Aneani & Ofori-Frimpong, 2013)
Since the focus of this study is to investigate the effect of canopy cover (CC) on Yield, the statistical analysis was completed by investigating the relations between CC and other
crown area (CA) of shade trees positively correlate with diameter at breast height (DBH) with different species having different canopy sizes
Summary
Ghana is one of the top global producers of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.), but reported on-farm yields are among the lowest in the world at 400 kg/ha (Aneani & Ofori-Frimpong, 2013). Given that Ghana’s Cocoa Board established a goal of producing 1 million tons of cocoa annually (Asare, Afari-Sefa, Gyamfi, Okafor, & Mva Mva, 2010), and that the country is pursuing a low emissions development strategy (GoG, 2011) and is committed to implementing reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries (REDD+), it is imperative that the cocoa sector commits to a strategy that enables increases in on-farm yields while maintaining forests and trees in the landscape. According to the FAO (2013), climate-smart agriculture (CSA) refers to agriculture that sustainably increases productivity, resilience (adaptation), reduces or removes GHG emissions (mitigation) and enhances the achievement of national food security and development goals This concept gained prominence in 2010 during international climate change negotiations, as many countries and influential stakeholders felt that agriculture was not adequately captured in the evolving REDD+ space. The concept, which is referred to as climate-smart cocoa, was quickly seen as a strategy with the potential to sustainably increase
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
