Climate change alters impacts of extreme climate
events on a tropical perennial tree crop
Abstract Anthropogenic climate change causes more frequent and intense fluctuations in the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Understanding the effects of ENSO on agricultural systems is crucial for predicting and ameliorating impacts on lives and livelihoods, particularly in perennial tree crops, which may show both instantaneous and delayed responses. Using cocoa production in Ghana as a model system, here we show that in recent times, El Niño years experience reductions in cocoa production followed by several years of increased production, a significantly different pattern than prior to the 1980s. ENSO phase affects the climate in Ghana, and over the same time period, we see concomitant significant shifts in the climatic conditions resulting from ENSO extremes, with increasing temperature and water stress. Our results illustrate the big data analyses necessary to improve understanding of perennial crop responses to climate change in general, and climate extremes in particular.