Towards equitable access to land for cocoa farming: the role of customary land tenure system in Migrant and Female cocoa farmers decision to adopt good agronomic practices in Ghana

Abstract

Cocoa is critical to the economy of cocoa-growing developing countries. It contributes about 7 % to Ghana’s GDP and over 800,000 households depend on the sector. However, land for cocoa farming is mainly through the Customary Land tenure system (CLTS) which is contingent on one’s status as either a native or migrant. Unlike native, migrants have no land rights ownership while women access to land are inferior to men. Land tenure security influences farmers investment decision, especially in the cocoa sector where perennial crops are involved. Therefore, we assessed the implication of CLTS on Migrant and Female cocoa farmers decision to adopt good agronomic practices (GAPs) in Ghana. GAPs are essential for sustainable cocoa production and yield. A total of 178 Migrant and Female cocoa farmers and 15 key informants were purposively sampled from four communities and interviewed using semi-structured questionnaire. The results showed that sharecropping as CLTS was the primary land access method by Migrants (71.9 %) and Females (56.8 %) farmers. Insecurity in land tenure under CLTS and farmers educational status significantly (p = 0.001) affected the adoption of GAPs such as fertilizer application, weeding and planting of shade trees. Furthermore, cocoa yield in Females (320 kg/acre) and Migrants (380 kg/acre) farms were lower than Ghana’s potential yield (1.85 tonnes/acre). The findings highlight the importance of education and CLTS reforms to ensure land tenure security. The study has implication for United Nations SDGs 5 which emphasize on gender equality and SDGs 8 which protect and promote the rights and working environment of migrants.