Poverty and climate change challenges for sustainable intensification of cocoa systems

Sustainable intensification of cocoa systems should embrace, among others, poverty alleviation and climate change policies. Using data from 710 households in Ghana, we showed that only 33 and 15% of cocoa producing families acquire sufficient income from cocoa to reach 'living income' according to World Bank assumptions with respectively actual yields with a farmgate price of 3435 $ t(-1 )and double yields with a farmgate price of 1150 $ t(-1). Besides price and yield incentives, agroforestry for climate change adaptation and preservation of other ecosystem services (e.g. greenhouse gas mitigation) should be promoted, while recognizing that farmer's willingness to invest in tree planting links with informal rights for trees and customary tenure systems. Finally, extension services and communal measures that mediate overall wellbeing should be complementary measures. In conclusion, we advocate for a interdisciplinary science-based approach that respects specific contextual socio-political systems to intensify cocoa production.