Cocoa Farmers Research Articles

Finding the nexus between associative mechanisms and cocoa Farmer resilience against natural hazards in Ghana

Finding the nexus between associative mechanisms and cocoa Farmer resilience against natural hazards in Ghana

Analyzing the Impact of Technological Innovations on Smallholder Farmers Within Ivory Coast’s Cocoa Supply Chain

The integration of technology in Ivory Coast’s cocoa sector offers a transformative potential to enhance agricultural productivity, environmental sustainability, and the socio-economic well-being of smallholder farmers. This paper explores the impact of technological innovations, such as precision agriculture, improved cocoa varieties, mobile market platforms, and sustainable farming practices, on cocoa farming in Ivory Coast. Through case studies and analyses, the research highlights the benefits of technology in increasing yields, improving market access, and promoting sustainable cultivation methods. However, challenges such as accessibility, affordability, and the digital divide persist, necessitating comprehensive policy support, investments in infrastructure, and educational programs to ensure equitable benefits. The collaborative efforts of stakeholders, including the government, private sector, and international organizations, are crucial in creating an enabling environment for the adoption of technology in cocoa farming. This paper concludes that embracing technological advancements, while addressing existing barriers, is pivotal for the future sustainability and prosperity of Ivory Coast’s cocoa sector.

Cocoa Producers’ Decision on Fermenting Beans in Jembrana Regency, Bali Province, Indonesia

Cocoa bean has an important role in the agricultural economy of Indonesia for its foreign earnings. Demand for high quality of cocoa beans is increasing fast due to the expansion of global cocoa and chocolate market. Bali Province also plays an important role in Indonesia’s cocoa production and export where the main cocoa plantation lies in Jembrana Regency cultivated by small-scale farmers. Chocolate industry requests for high quality cocoa beans from fermented cocoa for high prices, however farmers are still reluctant to do fermentation. This study aims at analyzing probability of farmer’s decision to ferment cocoa beans at Jembrana Regency, Bali Province, Indonesia. Logit regression was utilized where the dependent variable is in binary, which is the change in probability of a cocoa producer choosing to ferment their cocoa beans, given the independent variables included farm size, production and other occupation of farmers. The result from the average marginal effect shows that only production variable is significant to increase the probability of the cocoa farmers to ferment their cocoa beans. Result from the analysis indicates that on average for one kilogram increase in cocoa production per month, the probability of observing increases fermentation by approximately 0.26 percentage point. In other words, higher production volume increases the probability of the cocoa producers to ferment their cocoa beans. It is suggested to multi stakehonders in cocoa industry to further improve production through the implementation of good agricultural practices (GAP) and extending training for cocoa farmers.

Digital community readiness assessment for cocoa agroindustry in Lampung

The Cocoa agroindustry requires future changes based on information technology that provide significant value benefits for organizations/companies (digital transformation). The experience during the pandemic required us to transform digitally. Cocoa agroindustry stakeholders such as cocoa farmers, farmer facilitators, and regulators have not been responsive to this, and the industry does not know what to do. The urgency of assessing the readiness for technology adoption in the cocoa agroindustry in Indonesia is urgently needed so that all stakeholders can feel the implementation of 4.0-based technology. What are the benefits of digital transformation to increase productivity, value creation, and social welfare in the industry? This study aims to investigate and identify profiling of technology-based adoption, develop quantitative and qualitative models of TRI 2.0 and validate the assessment results. In this work, we take the case of agroindustry in Lampung province by involving cocoa agroindustry stakeholders. The technology readiness index 2.0 methodology provides a comprehensive framework with the result that the value of the Optimism variable is 1.05, the Innovativeness variable is 1.01, the Discomfort variable is 0.6, and the Insecurity variable is 0.75. The results of calculating the TRI 3.5 value, including the Intermediate Technology Readiness Index (Medium). The TRI value can be interpreted as Lampung cocoa agroindustry stakeholders in this case have have information and communications technology (ICT) potential and are not resistant to using new technology. Hopefully this will become a milestone for establishing a cocoa agroindustry community within the framework

Penyuluhan dan Pelatihan Budidaya Kakao bagi Kelompok Tani Pigang Sisan di Kabupaten Sikka

The partner in this PKM activity is the Pigang Sisan Farmers Group in Ian Tena village, Kewapante District. The results of a survey conducted by the PKM team found problems faced by partners in carrying out cocoa farming, namely a lack of knowledge and skills of farmers in maintaining garden sanitation, controlling pests and diseases, as well as limited inputs. The aim of this community service activity is to increase farmers' knowledge in cocoa cultivation, the production facilities used, cocoa plant pests, organic fertilizers and pesticides and the importance of maintaining sanitation in cocoa gardens. Apart from targeting knowledge to increase, this activity also targets increasing farmers' skills in making organic fertilizers and pesticides, trapping pests and implementing P3S (pruning, fertilizing, frequent harvesting and sanitation). The extension method is method demonstration extension (Demcar). The application of this method is through counseling and training. From the counseling and training that has been carried out, it was obtained that farmers' knowledge increased by 89.2% and skills by 85.1%. The follow-up plan for the service activities that have been carried out is that there is a need for assistance in post-harvest handling of cocoa fruit and sample gardens.

Soil Quality Index in Cocoa Crops

The main objective of this research is to develop a methodology to calculate a soil quality index in cocoa crops (Theobroma cacao L.), based on chemical properties such as pH, cation exchange capacity, organic matter, and percentage of base saturation, essential for the availability of nutrients in each cocoa tree. The problematic situation that causes this research is related to low yields per hectare, in small and medium-sized cocoa farms in the department of Huila – Colombia. A chemical quality index is proposed, which facilitates the analysis of the health behavior of the cultivated soil and nutrition of the cocoa plants, as a result of its interrelation with the physical and biological aspects. The proposed methodology is based on principal components analysis, to obtain weights and variable standardization equations, which evaluate 248 soil samples. The data indicate that in the cocoa producing land lots there are high pH values, cation exchange capacity and base saturation, but low levels of organic matter. It is concluded that in general the soils used showed moderate or low quality (52.42% and 11.29%, respectively), the rest showed high quality (36.29%). A soil intervention can improve its quality, however, the characteristic of the crop and the low levels of organic matter, requires recovering the properties and improving the health of the soil, if possible, through the implementation of regenerative agriculture, the object of future studies and research.

Cocoa Farmers' Participation in Public and Private Agricultural Extension Delivery in Amenfi Central District, Ghana

Agricultural extension and knowledge management have become key blocks in driving sustainable food systems and rural development, especially in periods of dealing with the complexities surrounding climate change and sustainable food systems in localised systems. This study assessed cocoa farmers' participation in public and private agricultural extension services in Ghana. Using descriptive and inferential statistics and collecting data from 385 farmers, the study reveals that private extension services stand out in various indices: access to information (3.72), communication (3.96), and support and follow-up (3.45), while public extension services excel in social and environmental impact (3.54), and knowledge transfer (3.86). Intricate extension programme dynamics also reveal a clear preference for private extension in citizen power (23.6% vs. 7.3%), delegated power (33.2% vs. 8.6%), and partnership (39.2% vs. 13.5%). Using the binary probit regression model, this study examines how various socio-economic factors influence farmers' participation in extension programmes. Results indicate that key determinants for participation in public extension include gender, level of education, land size, availability of labour, and access to credit. Conversely, factors influencing participation in private extension programmes include membership in farmer groups, land ownership, land size, the availability of labour, and access to credit. Policymakers and extension workers can make extension services more useful and open to everyone by focusing on these socioeconomic factors and creating programmes that meet the unique needs and limitations of various farmer groups. This will ultimately lead to higher agricultural productivity, better livelihoods, and better rural development.

Use of biofertilizers in cocoa (Theobroma cacao): a review

The intensive use of agrochemicals in recent years has led to serious environmental complications. These products are responsible for around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, in addition to degrading the soil. Currently, biofertilizers appear as substitutes for chemical fertilizers. Biofertilizers are organic compounds that, when applied, provide almost all the nutrients necessary for crop growth. The use of organic materials as a basis to produce biofertilizers is an ecologically correct approach in the integrated management and use of waste, as they are cheap and renewable sources of nutrients for sustainable use. Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) plays an important role in socioeconomic activities in Brazil, and to ensure the success of commercial cocoa farming ventures, it is essential to use quality seedlings during their production, one of the main factors is fertilization, which is directly related to obtaining well-nourished and good-looking seedlings. In this sense, the objective of this review is to summarize the beneficial impact of biofertilizers on cocoa farming.

Differing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on farmers and intermediaries: insights into the Ecuadorian cocoa value chain

The COVID-19 pandemic generated diverse impacts and responses in agricultural value chains worldwide. Cocoa is a key crop for Ecuadorian exports, and the analysis of effects the pandemic had on value chain actors contributes to the understanding of their individual capacities to coping with a major shock. The purpose of this study was to assess the number and severity of impacts and responses implemented by two links in the cocoa value chain to the pandemic, based on a survey of 158 cocoa farmers and 52 cocoa intermediaries from the main cocoa-producing provinces of the northern coast of Ecuador in 2021. Surveyed farmers and part of the intermediaries form part of the sustainability program of a large Swiss chocolate manufacturer. The impacts and responses reported were grouped into seven resources according to the Activity System Approach. Then, a comparison between groups was applied using the Wilcoxon rank sum test for nonparametric data, determining the most severe impacts and effective resilience responses among the actors. The results reveal that farmers and intermediaries were similarly affected by the pandemic, reporting 21 and 16 negative impacts, respectively. Farmers experienced a higher number and severity of impacts on financial and social resources, while intermediaries on human and material resources. The strongest impact was the loss of sales, reported by 65% of farmers and 58% of intermediaries. Farmers implemented more social responses that they judged highly effective, while intermediaries implemented more human responses that they judged highly effective. Public policy should enhance the social resources of farmers by strengthening their associativity and the capacities of their members, as mechanisms to mitigate their vulnerability to future health and climate crises. The financial resources of both actors should be protected through public credit and agricultural insurance.

Impact of access to cash remittances on cocoa yield in Southwestern Nigeria

Access to cash remittances has a positive impact on the food security of people living in developing countries. However, little is known about the impact of access to cash remittances concerning cocoa yield. Therefore, the study investigates the impact of access to cash remittances on cocoa yield. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 300 cocoa farming households for the study. The data were analysed using the exponential double hurdle model (Churdle) estimation process, inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA), and endogenous switching regression model (ESRM). According to the ATU estimate, the average farmer would produce a yield of 0.824 times more when he/she has access to cash remittances. The conditional treatment effect (ATT), which assesses the impact of access to cash remittances on cocoa yield, was correspondingly approximately 0.828 and statistically significant at 1 %. As a result, the typical farmer who has access to cash remittances would produce a yield that is 0.828 times more than it would be if he/she did not have access to cash remittances. The study found that access to cash remittances has a positive impact on cocoa yield among farmers in rural Nigeria after adjusting for both observable and unobserved factors.

Interactions between climate, shade canopy characteristics and cocoa production in Colombia

Properly designed agroforestry systems (AFS) can generate optimal cocoa bean (BC) yields, produce co-products and provide ecosystem services. This study analyzes the interactions between climate, AFS structure and BC yield in six climatic zones across three natural regions of Colombia. A total of 305 plots of 1,000 m2 each were established in 132 farms where the cocoa-AFS structure, BC yield and climatic variables were determined. Five typologies of cocoa-AFS were obtained based on the characteristics of the shade canopy and the abundance of cocoa trees: “Highly diversified multistratum with high biomass” (HDMHB), “Diversified multistratum with high shade and abundance of Musaceae (DMHSM),” “Diversified multistratum with high abundance of cocoa trees (DMHDC),” “Diversified monostratum with low shade (DMLS)” and “monostratum with minimal shade (MMS).” In the departments of Huila and Caquetá, Andean and Amazonia regions, respectively, the HDMHB typology predominated, while in Meta, the Orinoquia region, it was MMS. In the temperate-humid zone, the DMHDC and DMHSM typologies were not found. A high floristic diversity of the shade canopy was found: 229 species; Caquetá registered the highest number (152). The most frequent canopy companion species were Musa paradisiaca, Cariniana pyriformis, Cedrela odorata, Psidium guajava, Musa sapientum, and Cordia alliodora. The highest abundance of cocoa trees occurs in areas with lower temperature and relative humidity and in AFS with lower abundance of fruit and timber trees. Zones with higher temperature and lower precipitation had higher abundance of timber species (r = 0.23). The BC yield is higher in areas with higher precipitation and is related to the lower abundance of individuals of timber and fruit species, and to the higher abundance of Fabaceae. The BC yield depends on the typology (p < 0.0001) of the cacao systems and was higher in DMHDC (1,148 kg ha−1 yr.−1). These results are key for the design of cocoa-AFS farms that maximize the integral production of BC, co-products and ecosystem services, approaching sustainable cocoa farming.

Critical Assessment of Cocoa Classification with Limited Reference Data: A Study in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana Using Sentinel-2 and Random Forest Model

Cocoa is the economic backbone of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, making them the leading cocoa-producing countries in the world. However, cocoa farming has been a major driver of deforestation and landscape degradation in West Africa. Various stakeholders are striving for a zero-deforestation cocoa sector by implementing sustainable farming strategies and a more transparent supply chain. In the context of tracking cocoa sources and contributing to cocoa-driven deforestation monitoring, the demand for accurate and up-to-date maps of cocoa plantations is increasing. Yet, access to limited reference data and imperfect data quality can impose challenges in producing reliable maps. This study classified full-sun-cocoa-growing areas using limited reference data relative to the large and heterogeneous study areas in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. A Sentinel-2 composite image of 2021 was generated to train a random forest model. We undertook reference data refinement, selection of the most important handcrafted features and data sampling to ensure spatial independence. After refining the quality of the reference data and despite their size reduction, the random forest performance was improved, achieving an overall accuracy of 85.1 ± 2.0% and an F1 score of 84.6 ± 2.4% (mean ± one standard deviation from ten bootstrapping iterations). Emphasis was given to the qualitative visual assessment of the map using very high-resolution images, which revealed cases of strong and weak generalisation capacity of the random forest. Further insight was gained from the comparative analysis of our map with two previous cocoa classification studies. Implications of the use of cocoa maps for reporting were discussed.

HUBUNGAN ANTARA TINGKAT DAN INTENSITAS SERANGAN HAMA PENGGEREK BUAH KAKAO (conopomorpha cramerella) TERHADAP PRODUKSI KAKAO DI KECAMATAN MANYAK PAYED

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of cocoa pod borer (CPB) pest attack intensity on cocoa production in Manyak Payed District. This study used a survey method, sampling was carried out using a "purposive" method which was carried out in 3 villages, namely Lhueng Manyoe village, Krueng Sikajang village, Pahlawan village starting from August to September 2022. In each of the observed garden criteria, percentage and The intensity of CPB pest attacks shows different levels because of the way cocoa farmers tend their farms so that there are plantations that have the highest CPB pest attack rates and there are gardens that have the lowest CPB pest attack rates. The gardens with the highest attack rate were found in the village of Lhueng Manyoe with the category of unkempt gardens and the lowest attack was found in the village of Krueng Sikajang with the category of conventionally treated gardens. The average attack intensity on all observed plantations was 24%. Meanwhile, the loss of cocoa yield reached 275.96 kg/ha/year.

Strategi Pengembangan Usahatani Kakao Di Desa Mayakeli Kecamatan Pamona Puselemba Kabupaten Poso Provinsi Sulawesi Tengah

This research aims to identify internal and external factors in the development of cocoa farming and formulate appropriate strategies for developing cocoa plants in Mayakeli Village, Pamona Puselemba District, Poso Regency, Central Sulawesi Province. This research was carried out in Mayakeli Village, Pamona Puselemba District, Poso Regency, Central Sulawesi from June to August 2023. The method used in sampling was purposive sampling with the consideration that this area is one of the cocoa producing areas in Pamona Puselemba District. The data obtained from the interviews and questionnaires were then analyzed using SWOT analysis. The results of the research show that cocoa development in Mayakeli Village, Pamona Puselemba District, Poso Regency, Central Sulawesi is at the point (0.98 : 1.74) which is located in the Growth I quadrant.

Pengaruh Umur Petani, Luas Lahan Garapan, Serangan Hama atau Penyakit serta Produktivitas Kakao terhadap Keputusan Petani Mengganti Tanaman Kakao Menjadi Nilam di Desa Puduria Jaya Kabupaten Konawe Selatan

Cocoa and patchouli plants are the two primary commodities in Indonesia's agricultural sector. Technically and economically, cocoa and patchouli cultivation have advantages and disadvantages. These advantages and disadvantages will, of course, impact the costs and revenues of farming. Meanwhile, farmers cultivating cocoa or patchouli commodities aim to obtain maximum income. However, some farmers in South Konawe Regency have decided to switch from cocoa to patchouli. Thus, this study aims to analyze the influence of farmer age, area of ​​cultivated land, pest and plant disease attacks, and cocoa productivity on farmers' decision-making to replace cocoa plants with patchouli. Puduria Jaya Village, part of South Konawe Regency, was chosen as the study location. The study was conducted in April 2020. This study determined 60 farmers who cultivate cocoa and patchouli as the study population. The census method was used to determine the sample of farmers. The variables observed were the farmer's decision to change crop types, age, cultivated land area, pest and plant disease attacks, and cocoa plant productivity. Interviews were carried out for data collection. The collected data was analyzed using binary logistic regression. The results of data analysis show that the productivity of cocoa plants significantly influences the decision-making opportunity for farmers to replace cocoa plants with patchouli. Meanwhile, the farmer's age, cultivated land area, pest attacks, and plant diseases do not have a significant effect. The greater the decline in the productivity of cocoa plants, the more excellent the opportunity for farmers to make decisions to replace cocoa plants with patchouli. Therefore, easy and cheap cocoa cultivation technology is needed to increase the productivity of cocoa farming.

Hub‐and‐spoke social networks among Indonesian cocoa farmers homogenise farming practices

Abstract Smallholder farms support the livelihoods of 2.5 billion people and their decisions on how to manage their land has profound consequences for the environment and the food security of billions of people. However, farmers' values, norms and resulting management practices are usually not formed in isolation. Triangulating multiple analytical, modelling and simulation methods, we investigated if and how social influence exerted through peer‐to‐peer information exchange affect soil nutrition management among 2734 Indonesian smallholder cocoa farmers across 30 different villages. The results show that the relational structures of these village‐based social networks strongly relate to farmers' use of fertiliser. In villages with highly centralised networks (i.e. hub‐and‐spoke networks where one or very few farmers holds disproportionately central position in the village network), a large majority of farmers report the same fertiliser use, and that practice is typically to avoid using fertilisers. By contrast, in less centralised networks, fertiliser use varies widely. The observed community‐level distributions of fertiliser use can be most closely reproduced through simulations by complex contagion mechanisms in which social influence is only exerted by opinion leaders that are much more socially connected than others. However, even such leaders' abilities to influence others to change fertiliser use may be limited in practice. The combination of our quantitative and qualitative findings provides significant policy implications for development programs targeting smallholder farming communities. An important practical lesson is that common interventions which primarily engage socially central farmers may not be effective in stimulating desired transitions in social‐ecological systems. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Impacts of Farm Business of School (FBS) Intervention on The Income of The Cocoa Farmers in Nigeria

This study was designed to empirically investigate the impacts of Farm Business School (FBS) intervention on the income of cocoa farmers in some selected states in Nigeria. Primary data were collected through direct personal interviews, and with the use of a well-structured questionnaire from 300 sampled cocoa farmers. The data analytical techniques employed in this study include descriptive statistics, endogenous switching regression (ESR) and propensity score matching (PSM). The results from the descriptive statistics for participants and non-participants showed that most of the farmers were relatively old given life expectancy in Nigeria as 52 years. Participants and non-participants in the study area had a mean age of 54 years. The cocoa farming has been dominated by male farmers. The result of ESR was based on the average treatment effects of participants in FBS on income, and this shows that participation in FBS increases income significantly, and farmers that did not participate would have benefited significantly had they participated in FBS. PSM analysis indicated that participants in Farmers Business School and The PSM results imply that FBS training has increased the income of participants by 343,950.84 point. The results showed that participating in Farmers Business School leads to significant gains and impacts on income of cocoa farmers. Also, variables like level of education, farm size, amount of credit obtained, household size, and number of visits by extension agents have a significant impact on the level of participation. Therefore, research institutes and other agencies of government should improve upon their services of creating awareness for cocoa farmers to encourage the participation of more farmers in the training programme to have increased income. The combination of ESR and PSM analysis will also add value and contribute to the literature on the best approach to address impact analysis.

Interface between artisanal and small-scale mining and cocoa farming in the Wassa Amenfi East and West Districts of Ghana

The study examined the interface between artisanal and small-scale mining and cocoa farming in the Wassa Amenfi East and West District of Ghana. A sample of 758 cocoa farmers were randomly sampled from fourteen communities in the study districts. Formal institutions mandated to oversee mining activities in Ghana were purposively sampled. Quantitative data were collected using an interview schedule and analysed using descriptive statistics, binary logistic regression and complemented with narratives from key informant interviews. Land ownership in the study communities were primarily allodial and vested in traditional stools, clans, families, and individuals. The most widely used modes of land acquisition were outright purchase, partnership, and lease. Generally, miners resorted to informal agreements to acquire lands due to cumbersome legal processes which deter prospective miners from acquiring land through legal means. The odds to dispose of cocoa farms were significantly higher for migrants and married farmers and those with access to alternative livelihoods, and high well-being. We recommend to institutions mandated to issue mining licences to make the processes less cumbersome and institutionalise informal land acquisition at the community level since most prospective miners prefer to secure land from informal sources.

Plant species diversity in cocoa and rubber tree landscapes in Côte d’Ivoire

In Côte d’Ivoire, although slash and burn practice, particularly associated with cocoa and rubber farming, have greatly contributed to the degradation of forest cover and biodiversity loss. There is a dearth of studies documenting the latter. A study was conducted in the central-west and southern regions respectively with the objective to bridge this gap by assessing the diversity of trees species in cocoa and rubber landscapes. An inventory of tree species in eighteen cocoa and rubber plantations was conducted respectively in 45 plots of 400 m² each. Also, 15 plots of the same area were delimited in forests considered as reference systems. Cocoa plantations are 8 times richer than rubber plantations. Moreover, tree density varied from 36 to 56.8 stems.ha-1 in cocoa plantations including 6 species with special-status for conservation and from 0 to 5 stems.ha-1 in rubber plantations. This study confirmed that rubber farming is a driver of tree diversity loss thereby revealing the need to work out credible rubber agroforestry options. As for cocoa farming, the high diversity of companion trees is indicative of the high potential of transitioning to cocoa agroforestry. The contribution of this study to agroecological transition based on cocoa and rubber agroforestry in Côte d’Ivoire is discussed.

Heavy metal status in cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) soils and beans: the case of Abuakwa North Municipality of Eastern Region, Ghana.

In recent times, public concerns over the potential accumulation of heavy metals in agricultural soils and crops due to the excessive use of agrochemicals are increasing. This study was conducted in the Abuakwa North Municipality of Eastern Region, Ghana, to assess the status of heavy metals in cocoa soils and beans. Cocoa farms aged between 10 and 20years and have received agrochemicals for at least 5years were selected, and their adjacent forests were used as controls. Soil samples and cocoa pods were collected randomly and processed for laboratory analysis. The study discovered that across the sampling sites, heavy metal concentrations in soil were below permissible limits. However, contamination factor and geo-accumulation index results revealed that Tontro cocoa farms were considerably contaminated and moderately polluted respectively with Cu, probably due to long-term fungicide application. The concentrations of Fe (39.3-47.1mgkg-1) and Zn (54.8-70.0mgkg-1) in the cocoa beans across the communities were below the FAO/WHO's safe limit of 99.4mgkg-1 and 73.0mgkg-1 respectively. Lead (0.03-0.06mgkg-1) and Cd (0.12-0.20mgkg-1) concentrations were below the EU's maximum allowable level and Codex Alimentarius Commission's limit of 1.0mgkg-1 respectively. However, bean Cu content in the Tontro farm (51.5mgkg-1) was slightly above the EU's recommended maximum limit of 50.0mgkg-1, possibly due to the continuous application of copper-based fungicides. The study showed that, overall, agrochemicals used for cocoa farming in Abuakwa North Municipality of Ghana did not cause serious harm to the soils and beans, since the mean metal concentrations were not alarming and guarantee public health safety.