Discussing how extreme drought is affecting the health of cocoa trees via heat stress and increase in plant diseases. Photo: Elizabeth Obeng

Forests drive economies and support people’s well-being

News published:  20/03/2026

On 21 March, the International Day of Forests is observed, a day proclaimed by the United Nations to raise awareness about the importance of all types of forests and trees beyond forested areas.

This year’s theme, Forests and Economics, highlights the vital role forests play in livelihoods and economies worldwide. To mark the occasion, we spotlight a research project from the Forest Economics group, showcasing how economic insights can support sustainable forest management.

Climate off-farm rippled impacts on wellbeing and behavioral resilience: cocoa value-added chains in West Africa

Climate change is widely known to disrupt farming, but its effects extend far beyond the fields. An international research initiative is exploring how drought impacts not only farmers, but also the broader networks of people whose livelihoods depend on agricultural production.

Focusing on cocoa-producing regions in West Africa, an interdisciplinary team of researchers from Ghana, Liberia, Ivory Coast, and Sweden investigates how reduced harvests affect workers and families along local value chains. 

The study aims to uncover the often-overlooked “off-farm” consequences of climate change. When drought reduces cocoa output, the effects can ripple through entire communities—lowering incomes, increasing vulnerability, and threatening overall wellbeing.

The rise in cocoa trading prices in the last few years has been evidence of the linkage between climate disrupting and yields. But the knocked-on effects on actors in addition to farmers who also depend on cocoa bean harvests is more nuanced and much less understood. Through this research - with strong cooperators in Sweden and abroad - we aim to learn how people taking part in local value-chains who are often at the margins of the economy cope with cocoa yield disruptions,  says Professor Francisco X Aguilar, who manages the project.

To better understand these dynamics, the research team uses a combination of quantitative data and qualitative insights.

The interdisciplinary team of experts from Ghana, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire and Sweden will apply mixed quantitative and qualitative methods to:

  1. Assess rippled off-farm impacts of drought on individuals along local value-added chains whose wellbeing is highly dependent on cocoa harvests;
  2. Identify behavioral adaptations to buffer the impacts of past and expected future drought by actors along value chains;
  3. Determine socially-acceptable interventions that can enhance off-farm climate resiliency.

Read more here. 

Contact