Journal of Agrarian Change· 2026Q1
No Cocoa Without Deforestation? A Field‐Type Analysis of Forest Frontiers in West Africa
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- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Smallholder cocoa farming in West Africa perpetuates deforestation by lowering barriers to converting forest land, driven by reinvestment of proceeds from mature trees.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Smallholders in West Africa convert forest into cocoa farms, contributing to deforestation.
- The 'cocoa field type,' characterized by specific farming practices and tenure relations, lowers barriers to planting cocoa on previously forested land.
- Reinvestment of proceeds from mature cocoa trees drives continuous farm expansion.
- These mechanisms facilitate social mobility for farmers and laborers, perpetuating the forest frontier land-use regime.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
ABSTRACT This paper analyses the interrelations of production systems, class relations and deforestation in a smallholder forest frontier. Using the concept of field types, we provide a plot‐level analysis of deforestation processes in West Africa, where smallholders convert forest into cocoa farms. Field types are types of plots characterised by farming practices, specific development paths and specific regulating social relations. Based on 8 months of fieldwork in two case study villages in Ghana and Nigeria, we link the cocoa field type to the overall land‐use regime: field‐type–specific tenure relations and farming practices lower the barriers to planting cocoa on previously forested land. Farmers continuously expand their cocoa farms by reinvesting proceeds from matured cocoa trees. Thus, the cocoa field type facilitates widespread social mobility in which even labourers and marginal farmers accumulate trees over time. These mechanisms perpetuate the forest frontier land‐use regime as long as forest land remains available.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal of Agrarian Change, 2026 · DOI ↗
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HorticultureAgricultural and Biological Sciences