Cocoa climate-smart agriculture adoption in Ghana: why the synergies and trade-offs matter for policy

The role of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) in sustainable cocoa production cannot be ignored. However, studies on perceived effectiveness and the socio-economic drivers of CSA among cocoa farmers are underexplored. This study fills the gap by using Spearman’s rank correlation and a multivariate probit model with 455 cocoa farmers in Ghana. Results show high adoption of agroforestry (93.48%) and hybrid planting materials (86.30%), moderate uptake of lining and pegging (52%) and cover cropping (49%), and relatively low adoption of irrigation (23%), drainage construction (30%) and off-farm diversification (33%). Most farmers perceive agroforestry, hybrid varieties, lining and pegging, and cover cropping as effective or highly effective in reducing the impacts of climate variability. In contrast, a large proportion are uncertain about the benefits of off-farm diversification, irrigation, and drainage, revealing important information and perception gaps. There are positive and significant correlations among perceived effectiveness scores (on-farm and off-farm diversification; SWC and drainage). The study found that farming experience, farm size, household size, climate information, distance to the farm, ICT ownership, membership of farmer-based organizations, and regional location significantly shape the adoption of CSA practices. Hence, to promote sustainable cocoa production, a climate-smart cocoa policy should recognize both the complementarities and trade-offs among CSA practices. Therefore, cocoa policymakers should strengthen extension and climate information systems, promote integrated, context-specific CSA packages, improve access to irrigation, and support farmer organizations.