The study examined interest of farmers and insurance companies in farm insurance. The sample consisted of 110 respondents; 100 farmers and 10 insurance companies. The Probit model was used to analyse the effect of factors affecting the willingness of cocoa farmers to accept farm insurance. All of the respondents had ever heard of one or more types of insurance whiles 32% had knowledge of farm i...

Small-holder farmers often develop adaptable agroforestry management techniques to improve and diversify crop production. In the cocoa growing region of Ghana, local knowledge on such farm management holds a noteworthy role in the overall farm development. The documentation and analysis of such knowledge use in cocoa agroforests may afford an applicable framework to determine mechanisms driving...

Introduction The chocolate industry is part of a multibillion dollar industry where the constant growing demand has encouraged chocolate manufactures to seek the best ingredients to satisfy the most exquisite demands (Chocosuisse 2011). Nowadays the cocoa industry has grown quickly and many companies offer a wider variety of products, where the main ingredient is this famous seed called cocoa. ...

A number of farmer-led approaches to technology transfer have emerged in recent times to replace the largely discredited Transfer of Technology (TOT) and Training and Visit (T&V) models of agricultural extension. One such initiative is the Farmer Field School (FFS), an experiential learning approach originally developed in Southeast Asia for the integrated management of rice pests but adaptable...

This study explores the potential benefits and challenges of cocoa agroforestry adoption in five Theobroma cacao-growing communities Ghana’s Western-north region. Cocoa is a farming practice that combines cultivation with tree planting. It an essential approach to mitigate effects climate change, reduce forest loss, alleviate poverty; however, its not widespread within Ghanaian commun...

Phytophtora pod rot is currently the most important limiting factor in the Nigeria cocoa Industry with a total losses of 30-90% crop loss. To overcome this problem, Nigerian cocoa farmers solely use copper-based fungicides to control the disease. Copper being a metal is not biodegradable. Hence, it accumulates in the soil as a result of continual use. Heavy metals are potentially toxic to soil ...

Nigerian cocoa farmers mostly use copper-based fungicides to control black pod disease of Theobroma cacao. Heavy metals are potentially toxic to soil microbes and soil environment in general. Toxicity depends on chemical association in soil. For this reason, determining the chemical forms of metals in soils is important to evaluate their mobility and bioavailability. Sequential extraction was u...

Intensive cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s leading producer, has grown at expense of forest cover. To reverse this trend, country adopted a “zero deforestation” agricultural policy and committed to rehabilitating its cover through planting high-value tree species landscapes using participatory approach. However, little is known regarding factors influencing farmers’ introduction l...