RESEARCH NEEDS FOR SUSTAINABLE COCOA PRODUCTION IN GHANA

Traditionally, cocoa was grown in shaded systems where large forest tree species provided a shaded environment for the cocoa to grow. However, over the years these shade trees have been removed and cocoa farms have turned into monocultures. The illegal logging of trees was, and remains, an important input for domestic timber markets. The trees that can currently be found on cocoa farms are generally too small to be logged or of limited value (Anon., personal communication).

From the short literature review and the expert interviews, it appears that there is no clear understanding of what caused this shift. It can be very valuable to understand the factors this and aim to reduce the incentives for tree removal. It is often mentioned that the tree tenure system in Ghana has led to harvesting of shade trees, either through legal logging concessions or by illegal removal of trees to prevent future damage to the farms (see ‘Tree tenure’). Another reason could be that farmers think shade trees cause an increase in pests and diseases and will lead to water competition with the cocoa trees (Anon., personal communication). As was mentioned before, it also appears that there are concerns over the safety risks these tall trees can pose to farmers (see Health and safety).

Finally, an often heard argument is the reduction in yield due to shade. This is partially true because it is generally thought that there is an optimum level of shade (Anon., personal communication), though scientific research is still undecided on the exact level and it is strongly dependent on fertilizer input. Moreover, there appears to be a difference in the short term yields, which tend to increase with lower shade levels, and the ability to sustain high yields on the long term. There is quite a large body of literature available on this topic and a thorough literature review could provide more conclusive answers. It is important however, to realise that different versions of these arguments appear to reach the farmers. For example, the Coco Research Institute (CRIG) does research on growing conditions for cocoa and have always shown that shaded systems are more sustainable and require less inputs. This means that official extension should also not have promoted the removal of shade trees (Anon., personal communication). However, other sources state that in the past the government extension did promote unshaded cocoa systems (Gockowski & Sonwa, 2008; Anon., personal communication). This is mentioned in relation to the so-called hybrid cocoa varieties of which it is often claimed that they perform better in full sun conditions. One explanation for the differences is that, though CRIGs research results have always been made available through their annual reports, they did not always reach a broad audience. Therefore, different versions of the conclusions started to evolve, for example that there were ‘sun loving cocoa varieties’, even though this was never found by CRIG (Anon., personal communication). It is also thought that logging companies have taken advantage of the lack of reliable information that reached the farmers by spreading rumours that the new cocoa varieties were “sun loving”, thereby increasing the willingness of farmers to remove the shade trees (Anon., personal communication).