Farmer attitudes and intentions towards trees in cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) farms in Côte d’Ivoire

Farmer perceptions of plant–soil interactions can affect adoption of sustainable management practices in cocoa agroforests: a case study from Southeast Sulawesi

“…This has been the case in other regions where farmers were acutely aware of processes directly tied to crop productivity, such as the risk of physical damage caused to cocoa trees by falling branches from shade trees (Atkins andEastin 2012, Lamond et al 2016) or the appearance of yellow leaves, which are indicative of poor cocoa tree health and can be expected to lead to decreased productivity (Isaac et al 2009). Similarities in farmer perceptions regarding physical soil properties (Joshi et al 2004) and the usefulness of shade trees in coffee or cocoa agroforests (Albertin and Nair 2004, Anglaaere et al 2011, Gyau et al 2014 have been observed across different regions. Such commonalities in the ways cocoa farmers across the globe relate soil fertility and cocoa tree health highlight that indicators used by farmers vs. scientists do not always capture the same things, and underline the importance of local knowledge.…”

Trade-offs between crop intensification and ecosystem services: the role of agroforestry in cocoa cultivation

“…Four studies illustrate the role of trees in improving the livelihoods of rural families through production of timber, fruits, fuelwood and medicine, and in reducing risk with respect to cocoa price volatility Jagoret et al 2014;Somarriba et al 2014;Sonwa et al 2014). Three further articles illustrate how risk-averse farmers use shade trees as a long term strategy to avoid vulnerability of their cocoa systems against insect and disease outbreaks and climate change, particularly water and heat stresses (Gyau et al 2014;Jagoret et al 2014;Smith Dumont et al 2014). The relationships between management intensity of cocoa and the conservation of biodiversity are explored by Tadu et al (2014) and Deheuvels et al (2014).…”

Drivers of tree presence and densities: the case of cocoa agroforestry systems in the Soubre region of Republic of Côte d’Ivoire

“…To understand drivers of tree presence and densities, we adapted variables which have been used in past agroforestry adoption studies including household preferences (proxied by gender and education), resource endowments (total land, access to credit); market incentives (expected profits to be earned, distance to the market); biophysical factors (rainfall and soil quality); and risk and uncertainty (based on land tenure, migration status, and information access proxied by extension services and association membership) (Gyau et al 2014;Pattanayak et al 2003;Peterson et al 1999;Adesina et al 2000;Casey and Caviglia 2000;Neupane et al 2002;Degrande et al 2006;Pawarda et al 2010). In line with other studies such as Besley and Case (1993), Conley and Udry (2001), Acemoglu et al (2008) and Gamboa et al (2010), social learning and networks was included in the model.…”