Ghana’s long-running struggle with cocoa-related deforestation cannot be solved through certification, regulation or market restrictions alone, Prof. Winston Adams Asante has stressed.
He argues that unless the country addresses the economic realities confronting cocoa farmers, efforts to prevent the expansion of cocoa farms into forest areas will continue to fall short.
Speaking at the Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources (FRNR) Seminar Series at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, KNUST, Prof. Asante challenged policymakers, researchers and sector actors to rethink Ghana’s approach to the cocoa-deforestation debate.
He said the country’s response has focused too heavily on the farm while overlooking the economic conditions, land-use decisions and policy contradictions that contribute to forest loss.
According to him, cocoa remains the main source of income for many farming households, yet low productivity and limited opportunities outside farming leave farmers with few options to improve their livelihoods.
“These are people whose incomes are drawn from cocoa. About 80% of their income is from cocoa. These are mostly male farmers who take care of their homes, age is not on their side, education is low, and basically, the opportunities to tap into the commerce sector and other areas are limited,” he said.
Prof. Asante explained that when farmers cannot earn enough from existing farms, expanding into new areas becomes an attractive option.
“If a farmer wants to make more money, and that is the only way he can make money, then it must be at the expense of something,” he said.
That “something”, he noted, is often land.
Prof. Asante also challenged the popular argument that cocoa is not a driver of deforestation because loggers clear forests before cocoa farmers move in.
He said historical evidence and satellite imagery demonstrate that cocoa has also expanded directly into forest landscapes.
“The science behind it is clear,” he said, pointing to remote-sensing technologies that can distinguish cocoa farms from forests and track changes in land use over time.
He further drew attention to the growing threat of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, to Ghana’s cocoa landscapes.
Describing the changing situation as “the hunter being hunted,” he noted that while cocoa has historically been blamed for pushing into forest areas, galamsey is now increasingly destroying cocoa farms.
Prof. Asante called for Ghana to move beyond fragmented interventions and confront the structural drivers of deforestation.
He advocated stronger policies, better coordination between the forestry and agricultural sectors, adequately funded interventions and land-use planning that considers the competing demands placed on Ghana’s landscapes.
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