Farmers’ adoption of preventive and treatment measures of cocoa swollen shoot virus disease in Ghana

Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD) has been of great threat to the Ghanaian cocoa industry since 1936. Eradication by cutting out and replanting of affected cocoa farms has been the main method of controlling the disease in Ghana. Also, considerable research efforts have yielded several recommendations that farmers are expected to implement to limit the spread of the disease. However, the disease keeps spreading to new areas at an increasing rate. This study is the first to assess the depth and extent of farmers' adoption of recommended preventive and treatment measures respectively. We explore the rate of adoption and factors that affect the probability and depth of adoption of the recommended preventive measures, as well as the willingness of cocoa farmers to treat affected farms by eradication. Results showed that farmers' awareness of the recommended preventive measures significantly influenced both the probability and depth of adoption of these measures. The extent of adoption of recommended treatment procedures was very low (5%). It is therefore, recommended that the Ghana government through the Cocoa Board focuses on intensive farmer education and information dissemination through extension to increase farmer knowledge and awareness of the recommended preventive measures and treatment procedures. Also, factors such as farmers' knowledge of the causal agent, effects of the disease on cocoa, farmers’ perception of the environment (i.e., whether neighbouring farms have been affected and land tenure arrangements) and adoption of a preventive measure significantly influenced farmers’ willingness to treat CSSVD affected farms. These factors should be considered in packaging the recommended technologies and the strategy for information dissemination.