Cash crops and food security: evidence from smallholder cocoa and cashew farmers in Ghana

Abstract

Background Food security is a major development concern worldwide. The use of arable lands to grow cash crops raises additional concerns, yet empirical evidence on the relationship between cash cropping and food security remains inconclusive. Using survey data from 408 randomly sampled households, this paper assesses the income and food security implications of reviving cocoa farming in the Forest-Savannah Transition Zone of Ghana. In addition, the paper examines the influence of socioeconomic factors and diversification into cashew on the food security of cocoa households. Data was collected from 12 rural communities, where food crop production was the main source of livelihood. A causal-comparative design was used. Food security was measured using the USDA Food Security Core Module. Results Contrary to the literature that cash crops undermine food security, findings indicate a positive relationship between cocoa farming, household crop income and food security, highlighting complementarities between cocoa, food crop and cashew production. Although income from cocoa alone was not sufficient enough to guarantee food security, it enhanced the financial ability of farmers to diversify into cashew and expand food crop production. This minimised market dependency for food staples, enhanced annual crop income, and ensured a continuous flow of income. Overall, the food security advantage of cocoa farming was predicted by diversification into cashew, displacement of food crops using cocoa, socioeconomic factors, such as land ownership, livestock ownership, and formal education; and marginally by total annual crop income. Conclusions Income from cocoa alone is not high enough and widely distributed to guarantee food security. Reinvesting the returns from cocoa in cashew and food crops seems to be a more reliable pathway to enhancing food security than merely depending on the income to buy food. A semi-subsistence system that ensures optimum combination of cash and food crops is, therefore, recommended, but this may require sufficient access to land.

Financial Analysis of the Use of Land: Agriculture or Woodlot

“…Staple crop production is more profitable than cash crop production. This confirms [28] findings that farmers are more food and income secure when they are involved in cash crop production. During the first three years, when there is no revenue from cash crops, staple crops are planted so farmers can receive revenue during this period.…”

Effects of Monocropping on Land Cover Transitions in the Wet Evergreen Agro-Ecological Zone of Ghana

“…This is similar to the findings of Asubonteng and others for cocoa and oil palm plantations in the Kade area in the Eastern Region [10]. Most other farmers intercrop cocoa with food crops for years and then abandon the site after the cocoa canopy forms [61,62]. This is due to the higher price of rubber, easy maintenance of rubber farms, climatic resilience, and better access to bank loans compared to crops [63,64].…”

Smallholder cashew production and household livelihoods in the transition zone of Ghana

“…But when cashew trees become older and form canopies, intercropping becomes difficult. This could further worsen food crop insecurity and create higher prices, hence having a negative impact on the availability of smallholder farmers in Ghana (Achterbosch et al, 2014; Hashmiu et al, 2022; Peprah et al, 2018). The increasing trend of a shift from food crop production to cashew production among farmers in the transition zone of Ghana is to maximise income (Adjei et al, 2020).…”