RESEARCH NEEDS FOR SUSTAINABLE COCOA PRODUCTION IN GHANA

Additional livelihoods can serve as an extra source of income, which is especially important during the lean season and training in alternative livelihood schemes can serve as an incentive to participate in projects. However, some experts mention that farmers are committed to cocoa and that it would be difficult to get them to invest time and energy in something else. Cocoa farming is labour intensive and farmers have limited time available to do other things, therefore one could argue that there should be a focus on increasing cocoa productivity and reducing the work burden instead of putting more burden on farmers (Anon., personal communication).

It is important to involve the farmers in the development of alternative livelihoods, since this increases the sense of ownership. It is then also important to train the farmers properly so they have the necessary knowledge to sustain the activity without requiring external help. 

Some of the challenges that are mentioned for the additional livelihoods are monitoring and funding to determine whether farmers are actually doing it, particularly after the project ends. Indeed, an important aspect of alternative livelihoods is their sustainability. To ensure that the activities are sustainable and will continue after the project has ended, they should not be project funded. Getting the farmer to invest and commit resources increases the sense of ownership and more effort will be put in to get the investment back. It might also make it more likely that they will reinvest some of the income in the activity to sustain it over the long term (Anon., personal communication).

Besides this, it is very important to ensure that there is a market for the product or service that is developed. A market survey is needed to show that it is an economically viable option. Opinions differ on whether this market can be influenced to a certain extent, for example by linking consumers and producers to enhance access to the market (Anon., personal communication). However, even if there is a market for the product, this does not mean that the farmers can compete in this market. They need to meet high standards to compete with the established industries. Moreover, economies of scale apply to these activities and there is often no support system available. Getting the local government involved and having them embrace the activity could improve the sustainability (Anon., personal communication).