The Role of Innovation in Sustainable Cocoa Cultivation: Moving Beyond Mitigation and Adaptation
Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Abstract
Cocoa cultivation is both severely threatened by climate change and a potential contributor to
climate change through deforestation. Based on a review of the literature and secondary
documents, as well as field observations and interviews, this chapter examines different
innovations in Ghana’s cocoa sector, the ways in which they aim to address sustainable cocoa
cultivation, and the challenges to their adoption. We find that cocoa farmers are generally open to
innovation and new technology. Yet, while farmers respond positively to certain innovations, they
do not fully adopt others. This uneven adoption, we argue, is not just a result of limited resources
or poor extension services but stems from a failure to address the multiple challenges farmers face
when introducing new innovations, including insecure land-use rights, youth disinterest,
migration, and seemingly lucrative alternative land use. While promising innovations, such as
agroforestry and smartphone applications for agricultural service delivery and training, are
currently being implemented, such innovations, we conclude, will only lead to sustainable cocoa
cultivation if these broader challenges are addressed, thereby moving beyond a narrower concern
with yields and climate change mitigation and adaptation
Description
Research Article
Keywords
Agricultural innovation, Cocoa systems, Sustainable agriculture
Citation
Boadi, S.A., Olwig, M.F., Asare, R., Bosselmann, A.S., Owusu, K. (2022). The Role of Innovation in Sustainable Cocoa Cultivation: Moving Beyond Mitigation and Adaptation. In: Coromaldi, M., Auci, S. (eds) Climate-Induced Innovation. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-01330-0_3