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1.Introduction
West Africa, the primary cocoa-producing region globally, has experienced significant deforestation over the past decades, largely attributed to the expansion of cocoa cultivation by small-scale farmers. Farming cocoa represents generally the main source of income for farmers (Sonwa et al., 2019). In efforts to restore forest cover, states have implemented large-scale policies aimed at promoting agroforestry (Dieng & Karsenty, 2023). Most studies aimed at understanding farmers' strategies for adopting agroforestry have remained highly disciplinary, often lacking a comprehensive consideration of all social (Who?), historical (When?), geographical (Where?), and ecological (What?) determinants underpinning farmers' motivations in tree valorization.
2.Materials and Methods
Drawing from a sample of 150 farmers responsible for managing 12,096 trees, by surveys we (i) quantified farmers’ motivations for 10 material and immaterial uses of trees and (ii) explored by stone-ranking method (Sheil et al., 2004), the relative importance of the 4Ws in explaining overall motivations, specific to each use, as well as the varying levels of specialization in farmers tree management strategies. Analysis of data was carried out in Bayesian framework using an adapted form of the Monte Carlo Hamiltonian sampler (Carpenter et al., 2017):
$X_p\sim P\left(\lambda_p\right)\ with\ \lambda_p=e^{\left(\sum_{i=1}^{i=n}(\theta_{cov}*Cov_i)\right)}$
Where $X_p$ representing motivation types, $\lambda_p$ the parameter of the Poisson model, the effect of covariates $i$ was then tested by incorporating them into an exponential function.
3.Results
Findings indicate that the value attributed to trees by cocoa farmers is strongly influenced by various variables underlying the 4Ws: the identity and history of the farmer in charge of managing the plot are indeed important, the specific characteristics of the plantation, the territorial context in which it is situated, and the historical trajectory of the plot are equally significant, yet the effects of each 4W determinant depend on the material and immaterial uses considered.
4.Discussion
To encourage cocoa farmers to optimally diversify the valorization of their trees (Codjo et al., 2017), two significant levers are identified: (i) enhancing farmers’ abilities to recognize trees and (ii) reducing cocoa tree density by eliminating less productive individuals from the field. From a political perspective, it is urgent for stakeholders involved in promoting agroforestry to consider all dimensions of the farmer-field system (Sanial et al., 2023). The diversity of farmers’ life trajectories (Who), cultivated landscape variations (Where), eld diversities (What), and historical trajectory distinctions (When) present both constraints and opportunities with which farmers must contend to transition towards the much-desired agroforestry systems.
5.References
Carpenter, B., Gelman, A., Hoffman, M. D., Lee, D., Goodrich, B., Betancourt, M., Brubaker, M. A., Guo, J., Li, P., & Riddell, A. (2017). Stan: A probabilistic programming language. Journal of Statistical Software, 76(1). https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v076.i01
Codjo, A. E., Armel, A. T., & Emmanuel, O. (2017). Importance and Role of Biodiversity and Tropical Forests in the Cultural, Socio-Economic and Religious Life of African Black People: Case of Benin. Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering B, 6(6), 312–322. https://doi.org/10.17265/2162-5263/2017.06.003
Dieng, N. S., & Karsenty, A. (2023). Power through trees. State territorialization by means of privatization and ‘agrobizforestry’ in Côte d’Ivoire. World Development Sustainability, 3(June 2022), 100074. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wds.2023.100074
Sanial, E., Ruf, F., Louppe, D., Mietton, M., & Hérault, B. (2023). Local farmers shape ecosystem service provisioning in West African cocoa agroforests. Agroforestry Systems, 97(3), 401–414. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-021-00723-6
Sheil, D., Puri, R. K., Basuki, I., van Heist, M., Wan, M., N., L., Rukmiyati, M.A., S., I., S., K.D., S., Chrisandini, E., P., E.M., A., F., G., B., J., & A., W. (2004). A la découverte de la biodiversité, de l’environnement et des perspectives des populations locales dans les paysages forestiers. In A la découverte de la biodiversite, de l’environnement et des perspectives des populations locales dans les paysages forestiers: methodes pour une etude pluridisciplinaire du paysage.
Sonwa, D. J., Weise, S. F., Schroth, G., Janssens, M. J. J., & Shapiro, H. Y. (2019). Structure of cocoa farming systems in West and Central Africa: a review. Agroforestry Systems, 93(5), 2009–2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-018-0306-7
| Keywords | Cocoa Agroforestry, Farmer’s strategies, Use Values, 4Ws approach, Côte d’Ivoire |
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