Promotion of hybrid cocoa variety and renewal of aged cocoa farms with this variety is one of the cornerstones of confectionery industry's and national governments' efforts for the sustainable transformation of cocoa farming. It is described as a solution to reduce deforestation, increase yield per farmer and per 1 size unit of land and ultimately to increase the income of the farmers. You can read annual, impact or progress reports how many new seedlings have been produced and distributed, but: 1. have you read what is the real field performance of this variety? 2. is the variety helping to achieve the objectives of reduction of deforestation, higher yields and higher incomes? I think most of you have not seen answers to these questions. Until now. I am happy to share with you farmers' own evaluation of this variety based on which you can judge what actual contribution hybrid cocoa variety provides to the objectives of improving farmers' incomes and reduction of cocoa system's demand for expansion through deforestation. All the data you will read now is from my quantitative survey of 90 cocoa farmers in Asamankese district of Eastern region of Ghana.

1. Constraints for Orchard Renewal with Hybrid Cocoa Varieties
Research Problem:
Since one of the key determinants of yield and profitability of cocoa farming depend on age of cocoa
trees, slow rate of renewal of aged orchards with new planting materials is considered as one of
immediate concerns of cocoa supply chain.
Research Objective
Contribute to improved strategy for increased adoption of new hybrid cocoa varieties among
Asamankese district’s cocoa small holder farmers.
Main research questions
What are farmers’ opinions and experiences about hybrid cocoa varieties?
How can farmers be encouraged to renew old orchards with hybrid cocoa varieties?
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2. Conceptual Framework
The research used the conceptual framework of constraints of adoption of agricultural technologies
developed by Agricultural Technology Adoption Initiative of Jameel Poverty Action Lab (MIT) and
Center for Effective Global Action (Berkeley).
According to this framework, markets of well-functioning economies capture all costs and benefits and
farmers will adopt a new technology but under one or more market inefficiencies, farmers will face
constraints to adopt a new technology (Jack, 2011). It defines 7 groups of inefficiencies of following
types:

3. Basis of Farmers’ Responses
Graph 1.1. 84% of Farmers Answered Above Questions Based on Their Own Hybrid Cocoa Experience

4. Main Finding: Farmers Are Extremely Sensitive to any Loss or Reduction of Cash-flow
Graph 1.2.
67%: I want to keep bearing trees (income); 19%: Hybrids need more inputs which I cannot afford
12%: Hybrids do not last long enough; 2% Could not arrange plant materials

5. Constraints for Replanting Aged Cocoa Farms with Hybrid Varieties
Constraints Category: Risk Market Inefficiencies
Graph 1.3. Farmers Have Varied Opinion About Yield Advantage of Hybrids

6. Constraints for Replanting Aged Cocoa Farms with Hybrid Varieties
Constraints Category: Risk Market Inefficiencies
Graph 1.4. Farmers Have Varied Opinion About Difference In ‘’Time to First Bearing’’
Between Hybrid And Amazonian Varieties

7. Constraints for Replanting Aged Cocoa Farms with Hybrid Varieties
Constraints Category: Risk Market Inefficiencies
Graph 1.5. More Farmers (68%) Believe Hybrid Cocoa Is Less Resistant To Diseases Than Amazonian

8. Constraints for Replanting Aged Cocoa Farms with Hybrid Varieties
Constraints Category: Risk Market Inefficiencies
Graph 1.6. More Farmers (73%) Believe Hybrid Cocoa Is Less Resistant To Drought Than Amazonian

9. Constraints for Replanting Aged Cocoa Farms with Hybrid Varieties
Constraints Category: Risk Market Inefficiencies
Graph 1.7. 17% of Farmers Think That Hybrids Last 15-20 Years
20%: 25 Years
61%: Up To 30 Years

10. Constraints for Replanting Aged Cocoa Farms with Hybrid Varieties
Constraints Category: Input-Output Inefficiencies (Any Incentives from the Market?)
Graph 1.8. 94% of Farmers Say there is no market differentiation between Hybrid and Amazonian
cocoa beans

11. Constraints for Replanting Aged Cocoa Farms with Hybrid Varieties
Constraints Category: Input-Output Inefficiencies (Maintenance)
Graph 1.9. 63% of Farmers Think That Hybrids Need More Pruning
29%: Amazonian Needs More Pruning

12. Constraints for Replanting Aged Cocoa Farms with Hybrid Varieties
Constraints Category: Input-Output Inefficiencies (Plant Material Supply)
Graph 1.10. 68% of Farmers Think They Have to Place the Order for Plant Material More Than 5
Months In Advance of Actual Planting Date

13. Constraints for Replanting Aged Cocoa Farms with Hybrid Varieties
Constraints Category: Externalities (Spill-Over Effects: External Beneficiaries)
Graph 1.11. 69% of Farmers Believe That Government of Ghana Will Benefit from Higher Yields of
Cocoa

14. Constraints for Replanting Aged Cocoa Farms with Hybrid Varieties
Constraints Category: Externalities (Spill-Over Effects)
Graph 1.12. 98% of Farmers Beleive That If They Double Productivity Less Land Will Be Needed
to Produce Enough Cocoa for the Market

15. Constraints for Replanting Aged Cocoa Farms with Hybrid Varieties
Constraints Category: Land Market Inefficiencies (Land Tenancy)
Graph 1.13. 82% of Farmers Think that Landowner Will Not
Share Expenses of Dormant Years, Following Replanting

16. Constraints for Replanting Aged Cocoa Farms with Hybrid Varieties
Constraints Category: Credit Market Inefficiencies (Access to Credit)
Graph 9.26. 98% of Farmers Cannot Borrow to Buy Inputs (Because of High Interest Rates)

17. Constraints for Replanting Aged Cocoa Farms with Hybrid Varieties
Constraints Category: Credit Market Inefficiencies (How To Compensate Income Gap)
Graph 9.27. 77% of Farmers Cannot Fill the Income Gap During Dormant Years, Following Replanting

18. Conclusions
WHAT ENCOURAGES REPLANTING
AND DOING SO WITH HYBRIDS?
1. WHEN AGED TREES BECOME LOW PRODUCTIVE OR DEAD (MEDIAN NN: 165
TREES/FARMER)
2. CASH FLOW ADVANTAGE OF HYBRIDS: YIELDS MORE (94%) AND BEARS EARLIER (81%)
3. CSSVD MONETARY COMPENSATION OF ABT. 900US$/HA
5. 89% OF FARMERS TRUST PLANT MATERIALS FROM SPU AND 98% OF FARMERS BELIEVE
COCOA BEAN PRICES WILL INCREASE A BIT EVERY YEAR IN NEXT 10 YEARS
4. BIGGER COCOA FARMS (HYBRID USERS: 3,2HA/AVERAGE, NON-USERS: 1,9HA/AVERAGE)
OFF-FARM INCOME EARNERS, LANDOWNERS, SCHOOLED FARMERS AND FEMALES MORE
LIKELY
WHAT DISCOURAGES?
1. HYBRIDS ARE LESS RESISTANT TO DISEASES (68%) AND DROUGHT (73%), HAVE
SMALLER BEAN SIZE (86%) AND NEED MORE PRUNING (63%); HAVE TO ORDER PLANT
MATERIAL 3-5 MONTHS IN ADVANCE (90%), NO MARKET INCENTIVE FOR HYBRID
COCOA BEANS (94%)
2. LANDOWNERS AND SHARECROPPERS DO NOT SHARE COSTS OF DORMANT YEARS
(82%)
3. FARMERS LACK CONFIDENCE IN CSSVD (DELAYED PAYMENTS, NO PAYMENTS,
FREQUENT SUSPENSION AND RENEWALS)
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19. Other Outputs of Field Trip
Social Media
www.cocoa-farmers-ghana.blogspot.com
(posts about extra observations)
http://www.youtube.com/user/hybridcocoa
(60 videos from survey and fermentation micro-research)
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