This story is brought to you by the UN-REDD Programme, the African Forest Forum and GLFx.

Raising snails, beekeeping, exporting vegetables and producing plantains might not be the first agricultural activities associated with Ghana, one of the world’s top producers of cocoa.

But the country’s dominant cocoa industry is coming under increased pressure from widespread drought, erratic rainfall and rising temperatures – all stemming from the climate crisis.

Now, a growing number of smallholder farmers are trying a new approach: embracing climate-resilient, forest-friendly sources of income as seasonal alternatives to growing cocoa.

Such initiatives for smallholders and their communities are supported by the UN-REDD Programme, which collaborates with Ghana’s Forestry Commission to promote sustainable forestry practices, which in turn trickles down to the community level.

This community-centered partnership emphasizes how healthy forests are not only ecologically important but also have immense economic and cultural value – especially outside the cocoa growing season.

“Cocoa is a seasonal crop, so in the off-season if you don’t have an alternative crop, how are you going to take care of your family?” says Collins Akonnor, a cocoa farmer and chairman of the Eastern Ghana Hotspot Intervention Area (HIA) Management Board.

Akonnor, 40, also grows peppers for sale and plantains to provide tree shade for his cocoa. He says UN-REDD’s work in Ghana aims to help farmers find alternative livelihoods that don’t involve destroying forests.

These activities are focused on six HIAs, which are priority areas identified for forest restoration, sustainable cocoa production and alternative livelihoods.

“Through the Ghana REDD+ program, we have built our capacities to add additional crops,” Akonnor adds. “This is helping farmers increase incomes and take care of their families so they won’t be pushed to encroach on or degrade the forests.” 

Snails, bees and peppers

Snail farming is one example of an alternative livelihood that’s growing in popularity. The Ghanaian government actively promotes it for its low environmental footprint.

Snails are a valued protein source domestically and also have strong export potential. They require minimal space, limited equipment and little investment, making them a particularly attractive income option for women and youth.

Beekeeping is another increasingly popular livelihood, especially among women, such as those who have organized a smallholder’s group in Bachabodo. 

In this northern Ghanaian community, women have shifted from tree-destructive charcoal production to raising bees and gathering honey. They also harvest traditional medicinal plants and forest fruits, providing further sources of income without destroying the forest.

Growing peppers is also taking off amid growing expertise in producing and marketing the product. Peppers are now Ghana’s leading vegetable export, with France, Germany, the Netherlands and the U.K. the biggest buyers.

These alternative livelihoods provide more forest-friendly, year-round sources of income but remain relatively small compared with cocoa production – a mainstay of Ghana’s economy.

As the world’s second-largest cocoa producer after neighboring Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana employs some 800,000 families in cocoa production, generating USD 2 billion in export revenues annually and making the crop a major contributor to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

REDD+ in Ghana

Ghana’s efforts to reduce deforestation under the REDD+ framework, officially adopted as part of the Paris Agreement in 2015, have already yielded substantial results.

‘REDD’ stands for ‘reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation,’ while the ‘+’ refers to additional forest-related activities to combat the climate crisis – such as promoting alternative livelihoods that keep forests intact and healthy.

The country has reduced carbon emissions to a level sufficient to qualify for results-based payments under an emission reductions payment agreement (ERPA) worth up to USD 50 million, rewarding it for verified emission reductions while promoting sustainable cocoa production. 

Notably, 69 percent of these funds have been directed to local communities to support development projects, restoration activities and new livelihood initiatives. This reinforces the idea that protecting forests leads to both environmental and economic rewards.

“National policies or regulations and the REDD+ programme are inextricably linked,” says Joseph Asante, a technical expert with the African Forest Forum (AFF), drawing on studies conducted by AFF.

“Evidence from AFF research shows that the progress, achievements and success stories associated with Ghana’s REDD+ programme underscore the need for continuous, cross-sector policy reforms to create an enabling environment for effective implementation of REDD+ interventions.”

Such knowledge, combined with training in sustainable alternative livelihoods, offers a lifetime of support for smallholder farmers, said Ivy Ashiley, benefit sharing mechanism officer for REDD+ in Ghana and a planning specialist at the country’s Forestry Commission. 

“With the introduction of REDD, the future looks bright: we have farmers now who are being encouraged, who have the confidence that if they preserve the forest, they are rewarded for this,” she says.

“The UN-REDD Programme works with African governments like Ghana to turn national forest commitments into measurable results – enabling them to access results-based finance and ensure forests remain central to sustainable development,” says Mami Rasamoelina, UNEP/UN-REDD Africa coordinator. 

“Forests are at the heart of Africa’s climate solutions. With high-integrity REDD+ results, countries like Ghana are showing that protecting nature helps make our shared future greener, fairer and more resilient.”

Farmers reap the benefits of healthy forests

Communities are also rediscovering, through traditional knowledge and experience, just how much sustainably managed forests can boost agricultural productivity, including cocoa farming. 

Forest canopies help shield cocoa trees from extreme heat, while the presence of forest ecosystems contributes to maintaining local rainfall patterns, soil health and biodiversity – all key elements of climate-resilient farming.

Around Tamale, Ghana’s third-largest city and capital of the country’s Northern Region, these benefits are becoming more widely recognized. 

Forest protection has brought multiple benefits: improved climate resilience, revitalized cultural and spiritual practices connected to the land, and new forest-friendly income opportunities that reduce dependence on deforestation-driven livelihoods while uplifting women and youth.

Much of this progress begins at the grassroots. Community meetings, training sessions and local partnerships help smallholders understand how forests underpin their livelihoods. 

Mohammed Kamel Damma, a member of GLFx Tamale, believes this work shows farmers the long-term costs of deforestation: a worsening climate crisis, damage to crops and the depletion of soil and water resources.

“Forests play such a critical role in supporting livelihoods that we know we must emphasize how communities can both protect their forests and make the most of the opportunities healthy forests present,” Damma says. 

GLFx is a global network of locally-led restoration initiatives spanning Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, supported by the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF).

In northern Ghana, the GLFx Tamale chapter, which is operated by Regional Advisory Information and Network Systems (RAINS) and unaffiliated with AFF and UN-REDD, works to promote sustainable landscape practices and alternative livelihoods.

According to Damma, forests have longstanding cultural and economic value for communities, and tapping into Indigenous knowledge can help revive traditions that promote conservation.

These practices, he explains, strengthen biodiversity, help curb deforestation and contribute to Ghana’s national and global climate goals. That also dovetails with the REDD+ goal of reducing deforestation.

“Forests already have some level of significance to the communities, values that they derive from the forests,” he says. “So, we have worked with communities to revive these practices.”

“All of that goes to conserve forests and biodiversity, and that has contributed to the UN-REDD agenda and discussions globally.”

The combination of these efforts, backed by national policy and international support, is helping Ghana strengthen its resilience. 

A new model is emerging – one where environmental stewardship and economic opportunity reinforce each other, and where communities are proving that protecting forests is not merely an ecological duty but a path to secure, diversified and resilient livelihoods.