Effect of shade management practice on cocoa seedling mortality: micro evidence from the Amansie-West district of Ghana

Abstract

The paper examines the effect of shade management practices on cocoa seedling mortality. It investigates farmer awareness and adoption of the recommended shade practices and its influence on reducing cocoa seedling mortality. The constraints facing cocoa farmers in adopting the recommended shade management practices were also examined. Using data collected from 180 smallholder cocoa farmers, the ordered logit and poisson regression models were employed. The results indicate that majority of the farmers were highly aware of the recommended shade management practices, however, relatively moderate number of the farmers have adopted the recommended shade management practices. Our results further revealed that educational level, extension service, source of a shade tree, the type of shade practice, spraying insecticide, and weeding had a significant effect on reducing seedling mortality. Furthermore, the prevalence of diseases and pest infestation was identified as the major constraint faced by farmers in shade management. We, therefore, recommend that Cocobod should intensify extension services to increase the adoption of shade management practices through trainings to offset the high mortality in unshaded cocoa farms and sustain the survival of the cocoa seedlings.