How can cocoa smallholders adapt and become more resilient to climate shocks?

可可（Theobroma cacao）供应的经济史与其殖民起源（Takane, 2000,2002; Hill, 1956, 1963）和资源开发（Kotey et al., 1974; Okali, 1983; Oswald & Leonard, 1995）有关。尽管价值链上存在巨大的差异——从农场的价格到欧洲加工厂的烘焙、破碎的可可豆——但可可仍然是许多农业社区的主要经济作物。该作物促进了主要基础设施的发展，而且还提供了大量就业机会（Malan, 2013）。然而，气候变化有可能使几十年的经济发展和扶贫付之一篑（菲舍尔等）。, 2002;O'Brien & O'Keefe, 2006；Raworth, 2007)。气候变化影响温度、湿度、降水、土壤质量和农业害虫——所有这些都直接损害了非常脆弱的可可作物（Oluyole etal）。, 2013)。不稳定降雨和气候冲击（如El Niño或La Niña事件）的影响在整个热带地区尤为明显，撒哈拉以南非洲地区在气象和经济发展水平较低方面都是最脆弱的地区（Ahmed等人，2009；Barrios等人，2010；Bruckner和Ciccone， 2011）。在这个地区，贫穷的小农最为艰难。值得注意的是，仅仅两个热带撒哈拉以南非洲国家，Côte科特迪瓦和加纳，就贡献了全球59%的可可供应（Hutz-Adams & Fountain, 2012）。当这两个国家中的任何一个面临危机时，世界供应就会急剧下降，大量弱势群体的生计——尤其是农业贫困人口——就会崩溃这样的危机最近袭击了科特迪瓦和加纳的可可种植者；他们仍在努力适应2015年厄尔尼诺Niño对他们的田地和收成造成的影响。同样值得注意的是，世界上几乎90%的可可来自成千上万的小农，每个小农的土地不到5公顷（de latte - gasquet et al., 1998; Hutz-Adams & Fountain, 2012; Malan, 2013）。这些小规模的可可种植者努力寻找增加收入和改善生计的方法。这些已经面临农村贫困的可可生产者非常容易受到气候相关冲击的影响，需要采取有弹性的适应战略。

Background and research motivationThe economic history of cocoa (Theobroma cacao) supply is bound to its colonial origins (Takane, 2000, 2002; Hill, 1956, 1963) and to resource exploitation (Kotey et al., 1974; Okali, 1983; Oswald & Leonard, 1995). Despite the huge disparities along the value chain - from farm-gate prices to roasted, cracked beans in European processing plants - cocoa remains a major cash crop for many agrarian communities. The crop has contributed to major infrastructural development, and moreover provides mass employment (Malan, 2013). However, climate change threatens to undo decades of economic development and poverty alleviation (Fischer etal., 2002; O'Brien & O'Keefe, 2006; Raworth, 2007). Climate change impacts temperature, humidity, precipitation, soil quality, and agricultural pests - all to the direct detriment of the very fragile cocoa crop (Oluyole etal., 2013).The impacts of erratic rainfall and climate shocks - such as El Niño or La Niña events- are particular pronounced across the tropics, with sub-Saharan Africa being the most vulnerable region both meteorologically and in terms of lower economic development (Ahmed et al., 2009; Barrios et al., 2010; Bruckner & Ciccone, 2011). In this region, poor smallholder farmers struggle most.It is remarkable that justtwo tropical sub-Saharan African countries, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, contribute 59% of the global cocoa supply (Hutz-Adams & Fountain, 2012). When either of these countries is faced with a crisis, world supplies plummet, and the livelihoods of vast swathes of vulnerable populations - particularly the agrarian poor - are shattered.1 Such a crisis has hit Ivorian and Ghanaian cocoa farmers recently; they continue to struggle to adapt to the impacts the 2015 El Niño has had on their fields and harvests.It is also worth noting that almost 90% of the world's cocoa originates from hundreds of thousands of smallholders, each farming less than 5 hectares of land (de Lattre-Gasquet et al., 1998; Hutz-Adams & Fountain, 2012; Malan, 2013). These small-scale cocoa farmers struggle to find ways to increase their incomes and improve their livelihoods. Such cocoa producers who are already confronted with rural poverty are acutely vulnerable to climate-related shocks requiring resilient adaptation strategies.