Carbon, biodiversity and cocoa farming in Ghana

Professor Ken NorrisAmy Wade

Centre for Agri-Environmental Research

The University of Reading

Talk Outline

• Recent work

– Carbon and biodiversity in forest and agro-forestry ecosystems– Land management strategies for cocoa and carbon– The large-scale Carbon value of cocoa farming systems

• Cocoa-carbon possibilities

Cocoa-biodiversity project

Forest Reserve (Atewa) Traditional, shade cocoa Intensive, unshaded cocoa

Project details

• Eastern Region

• Integrated data collection– farm productivity and management– biodiversity– soil nutrient status (health)– carbon stores

Biod

iver

sity

val

ue

Production intensityLow High

Cocoa-carbon

• Carbon stores in relation to land-use• Land management strategies• The potential large-scale value of cocoa-carbon in Ghana

Carbon stores and land-use

Productivity

Forest trees Soil

Land management strategies

Unshaded cocoa0.58ha

Forest 0.42ha

136Mg C

160Mg C

Shaded cocoa1ha

Large-scale cocoa-carbon issues

• Carbon stores in forest and cocoa farming systems in Ghana are roughly equivalent• Intensifying cocoa production would reduce the carbon stores in cocoa farming systems by about 50%

Cocoa-carbon possibilitiesAfforestation/Reforestation1.Restoring shaded cocoa farming systems to former or abandoned cocoa growing areas2.Increasing tree cover in intensive cocoa growing areas

Cocoa-carbon possibilitiesREDD1.Avoided deforestation caused by conversion to cocoa farming2.Avoided forest degradation caused by the intensification of cocoa farming

Concluding Remarks• Cocoa and carbon in Ghana are inextricably linked– Cocoa farming systems are an important carbon store– Changes in cocoa farming systems could significantly increase or reduce GHG emissions

• Significant opportunity to develop cocoa-carbon projects in Ghana