Solidaridad emphasizes climate-smart cocoa production

Interest groups in Ghana’s cocoa production are intensifying activities to expose farmers to climate smart agricultural practices to mitigate and cope with the impact of climate change on production.

Scientists predict suitability of cocoa production in Ghana will decrease by 2050, with the rising temperature within current cocoa growing areas.

There are therefore calls for the cocoa industry to pay attention to climate change to ensure the sustainability of industry and livelihoods.

Solidaridad, a not-for-profit organization, supports the sustainable development of farmers and production systems in West Africa.

Managing Director of Solidaridad West Africa, Isaac Gyamfi, tells Luv Biz climate-smart production is the way to go. “We all know that precipitation is reducing, temperatures are rising and with the short raining duration, it tends to affect production of cocoa pods; so we and our various partners, including the Cocoa Research Institute, have been looking into what we call climate-smart production practices,” he stated.

According to him the practices entail cocoa farms having a certain number of tree cover to reduce evapotranspiration within the system.

Climate smart agriculture consists of proven practical techniques, such as mulching, crop rotation, integrated crop-livestock management, agro-forestry and improved water management.

It also involves innovative practices, such as better weather forecasting, drought- and flood-tolerant crops.

Mr. Gyamfi says farmers would also need to intensify production systems “by putting more fertilizer, pesticides, good farming practices for farmers to increase productivity per square area.”

He noted that the incentive to move into new forest areas to degrade the forest further is offset by the fact that the farmer is able to intensify the system and produce more.

Solidaridad has distributed over 26,000 shade trees to farmers in 52 cocoa growing communities in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions, whilst other farmers have established cocoa nurseries to produce varieties of recommended shade tree seedlings.

The Cocoa Eco Project, implemented by SNV Ghana in partnership with the Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union is also exposing the farmers to interventions in climate mitigation and adaptation to ensure sustainable cocoa production.

Associate Advisor at SNV Ghana, Ernest Adzim, has identified the need to increased partnerships to increase productivity by way of adapting modern production methods in the cocoa sector.

Cocoa farming is one of the dominant land use activities in Ghana with an estimated cultivation area of over 1.6 million hectares, according to the World Bank.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh