Perceived Impact Of The Sun Shaded Agro-Forestry Project On The Livelihoods Of Cocoa Farmers In The Western North Region Of Ghana

Abstract

Cocoa rehabilitation (CR) for restoring damaged, old, and moribund trees to raise yields and revenue from production is one of the current initiatives to increase Ghana’s cocoa bean output. Cocoa cultivation has a crucial economic and social role in Ghana. The study examined the perceived impact of the Sun Shaded Agro-Forestry (SCAFS) project on the livelihood of cocoa farmers in the Western North Region of Ghana. The study was carried out (using a descriptive survey design) in the Essam and Adabokrom cocoa districts using 200 farmers. Both closed, and open-ended interview schedules were used to elicit responses from the farmers. Also, most of the SCAFS beneficiaries had been small-scale (less than 1.0ha for cocoa rehabilitation) farmers for at least ten years. Farmers suggested that strengths of the project were the provision of economic trees, monitoring of project farm and extension, provision of cocoa seedlings, and cutting and treatment of cocoa farms while weaknesses were late arrival of fertilizer, unreliable and inadequate source of rain, inadequate inputs, land tenure constraints and untimely provision of planting material. However, the farmers suggested the early arrival of fertilizer, provision of irrigation schemes, adequate provision of inputs, payment of compensation to farmers, reduction in the cost of inputs, provision of soft loans, and stakeholder engagement on land tenure barriers as some solutions to the problems. The project was perceived to have had a moderate impact on the livelihoods of the farmers. Also, socio-demographic/farm-related characteristics accounted for 17% of the variations in beneficiary farmers’ livelihoods impact of the project, with the sex of the respondent as the best predictor.