Assessing the determinants of smallholder cocoa farmers’ adoption of agronomic practices for climate change adaptation in Ghana

Abstract Over the years, cocoa has been the bedrock of the Ghanaian economy and a source of livelihood for most cocoa farming households. Empirical studies have established that cocoa farmers have begun to adopt various agronomic measures for climate change adaptation. However, factors that influence farmers’ decisions to adopt these agronomic practices to enable successful adaptation to climate change are least investigated. The study aimed at investigating smallholder cocoa farmers’ decisions to adopt agronomic practices for climate change adaptation in Ghana. The study adopted a mixed method approach to research, and involved 259 cocoa farmers. Using the thematic and multivariate probit regression model (MVP) to data analysis, the results revealed that farmers’ decisions to adopt soil conservation, pruning/shade management and planting of new crop varieties are determined by a number of mixed factors including access to agricultural land, access to credit, farmer farm experience and access to extension services. The study recommends the need for the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources together with the traditional authorities and other relevant land sector agencies to develop and implement context-specific and appropriate land-use policy strategies that support access to sustainable land for adoption of climate smart agricultural practices. Again, the study recommends the need for the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to deploy more extension agents into rural cocoa farming communities to take farmers through more pragmatic agronomic practices for climate change adaptation and improves returns in investment in cocoa farming.