Understanding Farmers’ Perceptions and Factors Determining the Adoption of Good Agricultural Practices: Evidence from the Cashew Nut Production in Côte d’Ivoire

Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s leading cashew nut producer with 1,200,000 tons in 2022, faces low productivity of raw cashew nuts (350-500 kg/ha) due to limited adoption of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). The objectives of this study are to examine the relationship between producers’ perceptions and the decision to adopt good agricultural practices, and to determine the determinants of the intensity of adoption of good agricultural practices. Probit and Poisson regression models were applied to data collected from 845 cashew producers in Cote d’Ivoire. The results show that training and access to extension services influences the adoption of good agricultural practices. The average adoption scores showed that the most widely adopted good agricultural practices were plot preparation, direct seeding, formation pruning, firebreak strips, thinning, and pruning. Estimates from the probit model show that producer training on cashew technical itineraries, producer supervision by extension services, and producer perceptions are the main factors that determine the adoption of good agricultural practices. The estimates of the negative binomial model show that gender, level of education, social origin, training, and access to extension services favor the adoption of several good agricultural practices. Policies should prioritize expanding training programs and strengthening extension services to enhance the adoption of Good Agricultural Practices among cashew-nut producers and improve cashew production yield.