Agronomic characteristics and economic performance of cocoa farms in Haiti

Abstract

This study aimed to describe the agronomic characteristics of the cocoa based farms, estimate their agronomic and economic performance and carry out a gender analysis. Data relating to crops economic value or food security importance, household size, farm- ers’ age, farm size, crop yield and farm family income were collected by focus groups or individual surveys. The results showed that, in average, the households’ size was 4.37 people and the producers’ age, 52 years. The female headed farm size was 1.56 ha against 2.20 ha for the male headed ones. Cocoa farm yield was 562.98 kg/ha and average farm income, 622.3 USD for female headed farms against 1138.0 USD for male headed ones. Compared to male, female farmers possessed less land and earned lower farm income