Assessing gender and geospatial factors impacting cocoa productivity in Ghana’s organic and conventional agroforestry systems

Understanding geospatial and gender dynamics of farm productivity is crucial for addressing inequities in the development of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) agroforestry support services. Cocoa agroforestry systems (CAS) play a vital role in mitigating deforestation, soil degradation, and the negative impacts of climate change on sustainable agriculture. However, there is a lack of information on the spatial distribution of cocoa farms and the gender dimensions of land productivity in organic and conventional CAS, which hinders equitable access to development support. This study examines the spatial and gender dynamics of organic cocoa (OC) and conventional cocoa (CC) farm productivity to promote fair distribution of resources and development support within CAS in Ghana. A multi-stage sampling method was employed across three soil types—ferralsols, lixisols, and leptosols in selected agroecological zones. Eleven CC and 11 OC farms were randomly selected for each soil type. Data collected included cocoa farm sizes, farm polygons, yields, gender, and socioeconomic attributes of farmers. The results revealed that OC and CC farms were spatially dispersed. Characterization of the farmers' socioeconomic data showed significant gender disparities, with male dominance in cocoa farm ownership. Despite these disparities, female cocoa farmers who own their lands demonstrated higher soil organic carbon conservation and cocoa productivity than male farmers. These findings suggest that spatial clustering of cocoa farms and gender equity are needed to enhance the delivery of development support, helping to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), particularly women's empowerment (SDG 5) to promote sustainable agriculture (SDG 2). In addition to gender equality, spatial clustering and connectivity of CAS are environmentally sound for conserving life on land (SDG 15), boosting efficient support partnerships (SDG 17) and tackling climate change (SDG 13).