Through a meta-analysis of the scholarly and development literature we examine how the adoption of agronomic-oriented agroforestry practices, and gender-focus policy interventions can advance the sustainability of cocoa farming systems in West Africa. We explore the capacity of these interventions in advancing Sustainable Development Goals ‘5: Gender Equality’, ‘8: Decent Work and Economic Growth’, and ‘15: Life on Land’ and SDG specific targets. We point to the importance of combining regulatory approaches that can enhance de jure conditions (such as laws limiting female land ownership), and engaging in a participatory process to improve norms that might limit full female access to credit (effectively in a de facto conditions that discriminate against women). During our review we identified the challenge of gender-aware statistics as well the opportunity of tailoring extension programs that explicitly consider gender issues. We complement this work with the analysis of survey data collected across Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Liberia to assess how agroforestry practices can enhance climate resilience by eliciting farmer-level capacity to cope with drought.  Results show how gender disparities arise although we point to the challenge of quantitatively determine gender-based causality. Our research highlights the value of qualitative and quantitative assessments in examining opportunities to enhance the climate resiliency of cocoa farming in West Africa through agronomic and gender-centered interventions.

Speaker: Mavis Akuffobea-Essilfie