Social network to inform and prevent the spread of cocoa swollen shoot virus disease in Ghana

Abstract

The cocoa swollen shoot virus disease is a major factor limiting cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) productivity for West African farmers. The only treatment against this disease is to cut infected trees and replant with disease-free planting material. Research has recommended the prevention measures: (i) cordon sanitaire (leaving 10-m-wide cocoa-free zone around cocoa), (ii) barrier cropping, (iii) using partly tolerant hybrids, and (iv) removing specific alternative host tree species. Here, we evaluate the current adoption of these measures and identify their adoption constraints. We conducted a quantitative survey with 396 farmers in the Eastern and Western Regions of Ghana, held six focus group discussions and hosted a multi-stakeholder validation workshop with 31 key actors in the cocoa value chain. Our results indicate that the adoption of prevention measure against the disease remains limited. Farmers with a more extensive social network (number of family members/close friends who already adopted a particular measure), a larger farm size, more secure land tenure rights, and more knowledge about the measures were more likely to adopt them, especially barrier cropping, hybrid seedlings, and removing alternative host trees. Lack of knowledge about the measures was the single biggest barrier for their adoption, with 51% of the participating farmers not even being aware of any prevention measures. Here, we show for the first time that the social network is the main information source for farmers, which agrees with the finding that the flow of information between farmers and other stakeholders is a critical factor affecting knowledge spread and consequently adoption. Our results provide crucial insights for the elaboration of an implementation action plan to boost the dissemination of feasible prevention measures against the cocoa swollen shoot virus disease in Ghana in order to efficiently cover farmers' needs for information (technical advice) and inputs (access to hybrid seedlings).

Effectiveness of the eradication campaign of cocoa swollen shoot virus disease in Ghana: the extension and implementation problem

“…These were reduction in yield of cocoa farms (88%) and reduction in growth rate of cocoa trees (62%) (Table 5). On the other hand, of four recommended preventive measures for the disease management, about 47% of the respondents were aware of at most two (Table 5), which is consistent with the findings of Andres et al (2018). The use of recommended planting material (i.e.…”

“…Thresh et al (1988) noted that the seemingly unsuccessful eradication campaign could be a result of the land tenure system in the cocoa growing areas in Ghana. More recently, Andres et al (2018) also noted that adoption of CSSVD prevention measures was most significantly influenced by some socio-economic factors including land tenure.…”

“…In addition, several works on agricultural development highlight the necessity for research institutions to understand growers' knowledge systems in order to adapt disease management programmes to growers' conditions for enhanced acceptance and adoption as well as increased programme effectiveness (Chitere and Omolo 1993). Andres et al (2018) and Amon-Armah et al ( 2021) investigated the factors that influence growers' adoption of preventive and control measures of the CSSVD, and found a significant effect of growers' knowledge on the adoption of those measures. Nonetheless, these studies are limiting in providing the extent of growers' knowledge as well as detailed growers' practices in managing the disease.…”

Preferences for crop insurance attributes among cocoa farmers in Ghana

“…Cocoa farmers, like other smallholder farmers in Ghana, are confronted with myriad production risks. A section of the cocoa farms in Ghana are highly susceptible to the viral swollen shoot disease (Andres et al , 2018). As a result, government embarked on intensive rehabilitation by cutting down diseased trees and compensating farmers.…”

Improving Support Systems for Cocoa Farmers beyond Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease Infestation

“…Even though there have been some studies on CSSVD (Agyeman-Boaten et al, 2021;Andres, 2018;and Lartey, 2013), they have been conducted involving organizations representing Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Cote d'Ivoire, and concentrate on the biophysical, biochemical, genomic, and biological characterization of the CSSVD causal agent. Few studies have looked at the association linking CSSVD and the living standards in cocoa regions that have been afflicted by the disease.…”