Smallholder Tree-Crop Farming in Ghana and South Africa: A farmer-centred approach to cultivating knowledge

This book offers a unique, comparative exploration of smallholder tree-crop farming in Ghana and South Africa, spanning cocoa, oil palm, avocado, and macadamia production. Drawing on eight years of transdisciplinary, action-oriented research, it challenges dominant narratives of modernization and simple market integration, foregrounding instead the diverse realities, ambitions, and innovations of farmers themselves. Through rich empirical analysis of institutional support systems, farmer profiles, livelihoods, gendered constraints, food security, and landscape change, the book reveals how smallholders navigate structural inequalities while responding creatively to shifting markets and environments. At its core is a farmer-centred approach, grounded in human-centred design and inclusive development theory, that calls for more equitable, context-sensitive pathways to learning, knowledge co-creation, and rural development. Combining rigorous scholarship with practical insights from learning platforms and knowledge co-creation, this book is essential reading for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers working on smallholder agriculture, food systems, rural development, and sustainability transitions. It offers not only a critique of prevailing approaches but also a forward-looking vision for strengthening smallholders' agency in shaping their livelihoods and the landscapes they sustain.