Abstract:
Recent cutting of cocoa trees and the shifting of farm resources to only rubber cultivation among smallholder
cocoa farmers particularly in the Western Region of Ghana has raised great concern. It is important to examine
factors influencing enterprise-shift behavior among smallholder cocoa farmers. Interview schedules were
administered to all smallholders of rubber plantation famers registered under the Ghana Rubber Estates Limited
(GREL)’s out-grower scheme at Mpohor. 150 smallholder cocoa farmers (except 35 absent) were interviewed
for the study. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logit regression. About 73% of smallholder
cocoa farmers were found to be shifting from cocoa to only rubber cultivation while the remaining 27% engage
in both cocoa and rubber cultivation. The logit model reveals that family size and perception of investment
outcome of their cocoa farms have a significant effect on their enterprise-shift behavior and decisions (P<0.01).
It is recommended that government should address specific issues such as inadequate credit supply and low
producer prices that affect the investment outcome of cocoa farm enterprise.
