Reducing conflicts in cocoa farming in Ghana’s High Forest Zone

Misunderstandings limit climate-smart investments

In Ghana’s Sefwi-Wiawso-Juabeso-Bia landscape, cocoa farming drives the local economy, but also brings challenges. Farmers and landowners often enter into sharecropping arrangements under the traditional Abusa (where tenants take a third share of the proceeds) and Abunu (where tenants take a half share of proceeds) systems. These informal, oral agreements lack documentation, leading to misunderstandings about labour contributions, farm management decisions, cost-sharing for inputs, and the division of profits. Such disputes hinder trust, disrupt farm operations, and discourage investments in climate-smart agricultural practices, which are essential for a sustainable cocoa industry. In response to this situation, Tropenbos Ghana stepped in to help develop clear, culturally grounded contracts that reduce conflict and support climate-smart farming. 

Fostering collaboration

To address the root causes of conflict, Tropenbos Ghana brought together key stakeholders, including tenant farmers, landowners, the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED), traditional authorities, and local organizations. A conflict tree exercise was used to identify the underlying causes and effects of disputes in the Abusa and Abunu systems. This collaborative approach created a platform for stakeholders to voice their concerns and showed the potential solution of formalizing sharecropping agreements. By strengthening trust through conflict-sensitive engagement, the initiative contributes to peaceful and sustainable land governance.

The team developed templates to guide the negotiations for Abusa and Abunu agreements, grounded in local customs but providing clear guidance on roles, responsibilities, and benefit-sharing. The templates were carefully designed to be both practical and culturally appropriate, ensuring acceptance by the farming communities. To build trust and support, Tropenbos Ghana facilitated focus group discussions and validation workshops with stakeholders, gathering feedback to refine the templates. Additionally, the project included capacity-building sessions on negotiation skills to empower stakeholders to use the templates effectively.

Piloting the agreements

The initiative resulted in validated templates for both the Abusa and Abunu systems. A pilot phase was launched with 20 farmers in the Datano community, allowing for practical testing and further refinement. The templates clarified roles in farm management, decision-making, and benefit-sharing, reducing misunderstandings and fostering collaboration between landowners and tenant farmers.

By formalizing these agreements, the project addressed long-standing barriers to trust, transparency, accountability and cooperation in sharecropping arrangements in the cocoa sector. Farmers reported increased confidence in their partnerships, while landowners were reassured that their rights, access and tenure security were safeguarded. At the same time, there is a realisation of the sensitivity of the project, as it touches upon the power dynamics within the landscape. By including traditional authorities, who are the prime custodians of lands, Tropenbos Ghana aimed to pave the way for broader acceptance of the agreements. Their support created potential for scaling the approach to other cocoa-growing regions in Ghana, transforming informal systems into models for equitable and sustainable farm management.

Creating trust for sustainable farming

The formal agreements are not solely for the prevention of disputes between landowners and tenant farmers, but also pave the way for investments in sustainable agriculture practices. The clarity of roles and responsibilities will help in the adoption of climate-smart practices. Farmers will understand better what management decisions they can make, while the agreements also provide security for both landowners and tenant farmers on the division of benefits from those management decisions.

Providing a platform for landowners and tenant farmers to share their experiences and perspectives built trust and ensured the agreements addressed real concerns. Looking ahead, Tropenbos Ghana plans to scale the approach, sharing lessons learned with other communities and stakeholders. By reducing tensions and promoting sustainable farming practices, the initiative not only resolves disputes but also helps create a more harmonious and climate-resilient landscape.