Speaker
Description
Cocoa farmers in Ghana have not widely adoption of solar-powered irrigation, despite their recognized potential to mitigate the impacts of climate change on cocoa production. This study assesses farmers' preferences for climate and loan financing information for solar irrigation adoption. To study this, we conducted a discrete choice experiment with 631 cocoa farmers across regions of Ghana. In four treatment groups, we vary the availability of consecutive dry day and previous season reference information. In all treatment groups, rainfall information is provided alongside forecast variation information and the financial conditions for solar irrigation adoption. Using a mixed logit model, we find that farmers responded strongly to loan payback period, and the fraction of their farm that would be irrigated. This aligns with previous findings that few cocoa farmers in Ghana have access to credit and hence struggle to afford climate change adaptation. Farmers showed limited sensitivity to climate and forecast variation information. We find that they would not be willing to pay for climate services providing rainfall or rainfall variance information. We do not find a significant difference in cocoa farmer preferences for solar irrigation when comparing the treatment groups with and without additional dry days information. Although when consecutive dry days information was provided, we find evidence of it being used during decision making. Using a latent class model, we further evaluate heterogeneity amongst cocoa farmer preferences, where we find that perceptions of climate change, education and stated attribute non-attendance have an effect. This study underscores the need to integrate financial support with climate services to enhance climate adaptation in Ghana’s cocoa sector. Additionally, while uncertainty is a major concern in climate forecasting and prediction for climate services, in the context of adopting solar power, this does not seem to be relevant information to cocoa farmers in Ghana.
| Keywords | Climate services, Forecast, Choice experiment, Decision-making, Cocoa farmers |
|---|---|
| Status of your work | First results |
| Early Career Researcher Award | Yes, the paper is eligible |
