Researchers are calling for a fundamental rethink of Ghana’s cocoa policy, warning that climate change is increasingly threatening not only cocoa production but also the health, livelihoods and resilience of the farmers who sustain the sector.
The call was made during a Research and Policy Breakfast in Accra, where academics, policymakers, cocoa farmer cooperatives, development partners, private sector representatives and civil society organisations gathered to discuss findings from a new study titled Towards a Cocoa Producer-Focused Climate Policy in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
The study was conducted by researchers from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and partner institutions, including Harvard University, the Institute for Cocoa and Chocolate Research, and the Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny.
Researchers argued that existing climate adaptation strategies have largely concentrated on protecting cocoa trees and boosting yields, while paying insufficient attention to the welfare and adaptive capacity of cocoa farmers themselves.
Presenting the findings, lead researcher Dr. Albert Arhin said climate change is gradually undermining the human foundation upon which cocoa production depends.
“Much of the discussion around climate change and cocoa has focused on yields, pests, diseases and deforestation. Our findings suggest that climate change is also affecting farmer health, labour productivity and adaptive capacity. The biggest climate threat to cocoa may no longer be the cocoa tree alone, but the cocoa producer,” he stated.
The study, which examined cocoa-growing communities in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, found that farmers are increasingly facing rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, erratic rainfall patterns, declining yields, escalating production costs and physical exhaustion.
Many farmers reported spending fewer hours on their farms because of extreme heat and fatigue, while others expressed growing uncertainty about the future of cocoa farming. Some indicated they had even considered leaving the sector altogether.
The findings come at a time when Ghana’s cocoa industry is grappling with declining production levels. National output has fallen from historical averages of about 800,000 tonnes to roughly 600,000 tonnes in recent years, despite significant investments in mass spraying programmes, farm rehabilitation initiatives, extension services and farmer support schemes.
According to the researchers, climate-related losses are also diminishing the effectiveness of interventions such as the Living Income Differential. Although cocoa prices have increased, many farmers continue to struggle with falling yields, rising input costs and mounting climate-related risks.
To address these challenges, the researchers unveiled an eight-point policy framework aimed at placing cocoa producers at the centre of climate adaptation efforts. The recommendations include shifting from yield-focused interventions to producer-centred resilience strategies, increasing investments in climate adaptation and water management, prioritising farmer health and wellbeing, expanding access to adaptation financing, strengthening farmer participation in decision-making and integrating cocoa resilience into broader national development planning.
The researchers stressed that the future of Ghana’s cocoa industry will depend not only on protecting cocoa farms but also on safeguarding the farmers who cultivate them.
“A climate-resilient cocoa sector cannot be achieved without climate-resilient cocoa farmers,” Dr. Arhin emphasised.
The study was supported by the Harvard University Centre for African Studies through the Motsepe Presidential Research Accelerator Fund for Africa.
Researchers expressed hope that the findings will spark broader policy discussions and encourage governments, industry stakeholders and development partners to invest more deliberately in the wellbeing and resilience of cocoa farmers as climate pressures continue to intensify.