Economics of Cocoa Extension Service Quality, Climate Smart Adaptation, and Efficiency of Production Nexus: Implication for Food Security Among Cocoa Farmers in Ghana

Abstract

The increasing consequences of climate change and persistent low farm-level productivity on the livelihood security of cocoa farmers have become a growing concern, thereby calling for empirical research findings to support appropriate policy direction. Given this, the current study examined the food security implication of the economics of cocoa extension service quality, climate-smart adaptation, and efficiency of production nexus. A multistage sampling approach was used to randomly select seven hundred and twenty cocoa farmers from across the cocoa regions. In analysing the empirical data collected from the sampled farmers, the study utilised a mixture of descriptive statistics and econometrics models including service quality measurement model, mixed logit model, multivariate probit model, stochastic frontier model, the Heckit treatment effect model and the structural equation model. The result of the analysis showed that perceived increase in extension service quality positively influences farmers’ willingness to pay for climate smart cocoa extension service. It was additionally observed that farmers’ choice of climate smart adaptation practices was significantly explained by their perception of climate variability and change effect. The study noted that most farmers exhibited significant levels of inefficiencies and were also marginally food secured. It was empirically confirmed that improvement in the quality of extension service delivery to farmers significantly increases their adoptions of climate smart adaptations choices which was also found to positively influence the production efficiencies of farmers. In addition, the study empirically found out that farmers' food security situation can significantly be improved as their efficiencies in production increases. Thus, improving cocoa extension service quality by making its climate smart is critical and must be given serious attention in national policy directions by policymakers seeking to improve cocoa productivity/production and for that matter livelihood security of cocoa farmers.