Tropentag, September 10 - 12, 2025, Bonn "Reconciling land system changes with planetary health"

Farmers' perceptions, drivers and impact of the adoption of good agricultural practices on yield: Evidence from the cashew nut production in Côte d'Ivoire

¹Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët Boigny, Laboratory of Law, Economics and Management, Côte d'Ivoire
²Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), Policy, Innovation Systems, and Impact Assessment Program (PII), Côte d'Ivoire

Abstract

Côte d’Ivoire; the world's leading cashew nut producer, with 1,200,000 tonnes by 2022, faces low productivity of raw cashew nuts, fluctuating between 350 and 500 kg/ha, due to limited adoption of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). This study explored the relationship between producers' perceptions and GAP adoption, identified factors influencing both the adoption and intensity of GAP use, and assessed the impact of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) adoption on cashew nut yield. To this end, probit, Poisson regression and marginal treatment effect models were applied to data collected from 845 cashew producers in Côte d’Ivoire. Results showed that the most widely adopted Good Agricultural Practices were plot preparation, direct seeding, shaping pruning, firebreak strips, thinning and pruning. Estimates from the probit model indicate that the training of producers in the cashew technical itinerary, the supervision of producers by extension services and producers' perceptions are the main factors determining the adoption of all Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). Results from the Poisson regression and the negative binomial model indicate that gender, level of education, social background, ownership mode, rental of plot, training and access to extension services influence the adoption of GAP. We find evidence that adoption of thinning and pruning increased the yield of cashew nut producers by 194 kg/ha and 195 kg/ha, respectively. These findings emphasise the need for policies prioritising training programmes and strengthening extension services to boost GAP adoption and improve farmers’ yield. Scaling up these initiatives can contribute to sustainable yield improvements in Côte d’Ivoire and the wider West African region.

Keywords: Adoption, cashew nuts, good agricultural practices, impact, marginal treatment effect model

Contact Address: Nonlourou Zié Silue, Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët Boigny, Laboratory of Law, Economics and Management, 225 Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, e-mail: nonlourouzieyahoo.com