Barriers to cocoa replanting in Western-Ghana

The ageing of cocoa trees and the spread of Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD) threaten cocoa production and the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in West Africa. To protect future cocoa production, upgrade smallholders into more productive and sustainable production systems and secure their future livelihoods, large-scale replanting of overaged and diseased cocoa plots is essential. In Ghana, an estimated 738,542 hectares, about 39% of land under cocoa, requires replanting. For many smallholders, replanting is very expensive given the significant costs of planting material and other inputs, the labor demands, and the drop in income in the first 3-5 years after replanting, before the young trees come into production. Despite sometimes generous compensation packages, farmers are reluctant to join replanting programs, which indicates additional personal, social-cultural, or institutional barriers. Understanding smallholders' barriers to replanting is vital to reaching the required scale to effectively combat CSSVD and protect smallholders' future livelihoods.

This research takes a case-study approach to analyze the factors that influence smallholders' ability and willingness to enroll in an NGO-led replanting program implemented in 2016-2018 in the Western North Region of Ghana. We constructed a counterfactual group of comparable households that did not enroll in the program and used survey data (n=250) and multi-variate techniques to analyze the household characteristics associated with self-selection into cocoa replanting. Furthermore, we conducted broader stakeholder consultation to analyze social and institutional barriers to replanting. 

Results show that smallholders with more household labor, multiple cocoa plots, other livelihood activities and knowledge of replanting are more likely to self-select into cocoa replanting programs. Moreover, social and institutional factors such as cultural attachment to the crop, tenure insecurity and bad experiences with previous replanting programs are important barriers to replanting. This demonstrates the need for an integrated approach to address not only the labor costs and income loss associated with cocoa replanting, but also the social and institutional barriers through extensive community engagement and negotiation.

Keywords: Cocoa replanting, Ghana, smallholders, self-selection, socio-institutional barriers