RESEARCH NEEDS FOR SUSTAINABLE COCOA PRODUCTION IN GHANA

Cocoa is currently the main export crop for Ghana, however, this might change in the future (Oxford Business Group, 2013). Changing weather events, pressures from mining and low cocoa prices compared to other cash crops (palm oil, rubber) might lead more and more farmers to shift to other activities. Moreover, since cocoa cultivation is now at its “last frontier” in Ghana, cocoa farming could become more costly because there is no more room for expansion and old farms therefore need to rehabilitated instead. The low yields in African cocoa production systems can lead to strong competition from Asian and South American producers who tend to have higher yields (World Cocoa Foundation, 2014). As a result of these, and other, developments it is questionable whether cocoa cultivation will remain the main land use activity in the area in the future. It is unlikely that farmers will continue to grow cocoa when there is a more profitable alternative (Anon., personal communication). Of course the project should aim to influence the factors that negatively affect cocoa cultivation, however, when this is not done effectively and the area changes to another land-use, the effectiveness of the project could be greatly reduced as it would be targeting the wrong sector.