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Challenges

Farmers' Motivation

 

Research needs:

 

  1. How do farmers value biodiversity? Would they be motivated to protect biodiversity on their farm?
     

  2. What are the negative associations with biodiversity and can these be reduced?
     

  3. What incentives are effective to motivate farmers to join sustainability projects? Are there short- or medium term incentives?
     

  4. Do farmers see the long term benefits of shaded systems or should the focus be on short term benefits?

Acceptance by farmers will be a major challenge to any project and it is important to allow time for the farmers to buy into the project without pushing it on them. In the project design the wishes of the farmers need to be taken into account and combined with the projects objectives. Even though payments or compensations could incentivize them, people are more inclined to do things they understand. Farmer motivation should thus start before offering incentives and boils down to education to make them understand the benefits and to address their fears (Anon., personal communication). This awareness creation should be followed by action, so farmers see the benefits that they have learned about (Anon., personal communication).

 

The current way of farming and using forest resources has been in the culture of cocoa farmers for generations, so it will be difficult to change this (Anon., personal communication). A project will become more interesting when it is multifaceted and offers several benefits on the short and long term (Anon. personal communication). There is also a need to understand the motivation for the past shift to full sun systems (Anon., personal communication).

 

Convincing arguments for keeping trees on farms should be developed, both environmentally, economically and socially (Anon., personal communication). Farmers need to see the immediate benefits of having shade trees on their farms, for example products they can retrieve from the tree. Income from timber on the long term, will not be enough though it can serve as an additional incentive (Anon., personal communication).

 

In short, there is a need to develop an explanation for farmers:

  1. Why should farmers care about biodiversity (before incentives)?

  2. What would be incentives, how can they benefit?

  3. How do they continue to be motivated (beyond incentives)?

Further  reading:

 

 

 

 

 

Websites:

 

 

 

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