Abstract

Eric Asare, Eduardo Segarra, Kwasi Ohene-Yankyera and Gertrude Nakakeeto

The cocoa capsid is a critical pest in Ghana. Uncontrolled it can cause up to about 30 percent cocoa yield loss, directly affecting the livelihoods of about 800,000 cocoa farmers in southern Ghana. This study uses a logit model to estimate the magnitudes of the effects of the factors that influence the adoption of capsicide by cocoa producers in the Sekyere Area, Ashanti Region, Ghana. It uses a survey data collected by the Ghana Sustainable Cocoa Competitive Systems, Accra, Ghana, on active cocoa producers in the study area in the 2006/2007 cocoa production season. Our results show that producer’s farming experience, producer’s engagement in off-farm economic activities, producer’s access to credit, extension visit, cocoa output, producer’s age, and membership in a farmers’ group are likely to influence cocoa farmers’ decision to adopt capsicide. The results could help Ghana manage cocoa capsid efficiently.