CLIMCARG CLIMCARG project is a multidisciplinary research project involving scientific and socio-economic studies and capacity building in climate-resilient cocoa agroforestry in Ghana. The project which commenced in 2020 is expected to end in 2024. It is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and led by the KNUST with Aarhus University (AU) and University of Copenhagen (KU) being the northern partners. The main southern collaborator is the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana. The research project is also characterized by state-of-the-art and advanced methodologies which will be applied in a professional research environment in both farmers’ farms in Offinso Municipality and Adansi North District and scientific laboratories in KNUST, AU and KU, CRIG and LGC Genomics Ltd, UK.

Summary of Research

The cocoa industry is one of the main pillars of the economies of several countries providing livelihoods for over 50 million people. Climate change is currently the most important threat to cocoa production in Ghana. The result of climate change has been strong drying trends in the forested region of the country where cocoa is widely grown. The impact includes mortality of seedlings and matured trees, low yield, wildfires and short duration of harvest. Cocoa growth, development and yield largely depend on temperature and rainfall and different varieties respond differently to these environmental factors. As a result, many farmer livelihoods are at risk and there is the need to reverse this trend. Ghana National Climate Change Policy (2013) and COCOBOD seek to achieve climate-resilient cocoa sector but development of specific strategies for climate-resilient cocoa agroforestry remains inadequate. This research intends to assess the climate-smartness of existing cocoa varieties, organic and inorganic fertilizers and shade trees and farmers’ perspectives on social resilient cocoa agroforestry to enhance sustainable yield, income and livelihoods of famers and improve climate change mitigation and adaptation in cocoa landscapes in Ghana. Cocoa knowledge and Information System will also be established to enhance farmers’ access to climate-smart cocoa information. The project is organized into six Work Packages (WPs).  The WP1 identifies climate-smart cocoa varieties in Ghana. WP2 also identifies climate-smart soil fertility improvement technologies. WP3 determines climate-smart shade trees in cocoa agroforestry systems and produces their planting stocks for small-holder cocoa farmers. WP4 assesses farmers’ local strategies towards resilient cocoa agroforestry. WP5 establishes a Cocoa Knowledge and Information System through cell phone technology for farmers to access data and information on climate-smart cocoa agroforestry in Ghana. WP6, however, develops high-level human capacity in climate-smart cocoa agroforestry (5 PhDs and 2 MPhils) for research and academic institutions and disseminates research results to stakeholders. The project will use on-farm and tree level studies in addition to participatory appraisal of farmers’ perspectives for data collection. The research will ensure the sustenance of farmers’ livelihoods and income (SDG 1&8- Good jobs and economic growth), timely climate change adaptation and mitigation (SDG 13), and create partnerships between public and private institutions as well as between Ghana and Denmark.

State of the art and rational

The cocoa (Theobroma cacao L) industry is one of the main pillars of the economies of several countries providing livelihoods for over 50 million people (Fairtrade, 2011). In Ghana, more than six million inhabitants depend on the commodity (IRIN, 2015). Over the last 100 years, cocoa demand has been increasing by an average of 3% a year. The sector will need an annual production of about 4.5 million tonnes to meet the growing demand by 2020 (Fairtrade, 2011). Climate change is currently the most important threat to cocoa production in Ghana. Precipitation in West Africa has been declining at a rate of 4% per decade; mean surface air temperature has risen between 0.2 – 0.3 °C per decade since 1960 in the forest areas (Malhi and Wright, 2004). In Ghana, the mean surface air temperature rose at a rate of 0.26 °C per decade between 1940 and 2000 (Barnes, 2009). Average rainfall also decreased by 4.3% per month per decade between 1960 and 2006 (McSweeney et al., 2010). The result has been strong drying trends in the forested region of the country (Barnes, 2009) where cocoa is widely grown. It has been projected that mean annual rainfall in the semi-deciduous forest zone, a major cocoa growing zone of Ghana will decline by -2.8, -10.9 and -18.6% in the year 2020, 2050 and 2080 respectively (Anim-Kwapong and Frimpong 2004). Mean annual temperature changes in the same forest zone will also rise by 0.8, 2.5 and 5.4°C in a year 2020, 2050, and 2080 respectively. These process-based projections further confirm the drying trends in the cocoa growing region (Barnes, 2009).

Ghanaian cocoa farmers have been impacted by the drying trends on cocoa production (Schroth et al., 2016; Selase et al., 2017; Gateau-Rey et al., 2018). The impact includes mortality of seedlings and matured trees, low yield, wildfires and short duration of harvest. It has been predicted that, large parts of cocoa producing regions in West Africa will become unfit for production in the future (Schroth et al. 2016; Laderach et al., 2013). This is due to temperature increases and irregular pattern of rainfall which would drive greater evaporative demand and increased water deficit. Cocoa growth, development and yield largely depend on temperature and rainfall (Almeida and Valle, 2007). Different varieties respond differently to these environmental factors. As a result, many small-holder farmer livelihoods are being lost at an alarming rate and there is the need to reverse this trend. It is, therefore, important that cocoa agroforestry system in Ghana should involve incorporation of existing climate-smart cocoa varieties, climate-smart cocoa nutrition, appropriate shade trees and farmers’ perspectives on social resilient cocoa agroforestry. Farmer access to climate-smart cocoa information is also needed to support and sustain their livelihoods. This study intends to research into these climate-smart cocoa agroforestry strategies to enhance sustainable yield, income, livelihoods and climate change mitigation and adaptation in cocoa landscapes in Ghana.