Sustainable and Deforestation-Free Cocoa in Ghana
This research proposal focuses on the challenges and impacts of cocoa production in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, highlighting its role in deforestation, biodiversity loss, and poverty among farmers. The proposal outlines the USAID’s Supporting Deforestation Free Cocoa (SDFC) project, which aimed to promote sustainable cocoa production and forest conservation in Ghana’s Western Region. The project involved various activities such as farm rehabilitation, land tenure strengthening, cocoa agroforestry, and land governance improvements. The research team aims to conduct an impact evaluation of the SDFC project, utilizing household surveys, carbon stock measures, and qualitative data. Additionally, they propose to complement the evaluation with satellite imagery analysis to assess environmental outcomes and study the impact of gold mining activities in the project area. The analysis will focus on land-use change, uptake of agroforestry interventions, and the presence of mining sites using publicly available and high-resolution satellite data.
This grant is made possible by the Goldsmith Research Fund, a gift from Carl H. Goldsmith (W ‘88).
Heather Huntington
Director, Penn Development Research Institute-DevLabHeather Huntington is the executive director of the Penn Development Research Institute-DevLab. Her research interests include land tenure, land administration, natural resource management.
