## 3 Results
### Discussion  
Buffer capacity and adaptive capacity were adjudged the most important factors in building the resilience of the cocoa agroecosystems in the study areas. Whilst buffer capacity contributed 44.3% in the Offinso Municipal District, it scored the same percentage (42.9%) as adaptive capacity in the Adansi North District. Across the two study areas, shade trees (10.7% and 11.5%) food crops (6% and 6%), soil quality (10.1% and 10.7%), cocoa variety (7.3% and 7.7%), farm size (8% and 7.9%), farm's age (9.7% and 10.6%), livelihood diversification (6% and 6.5%), annual income (9.1% and 8.8%) and co-operative membership (6.7% and 5.7%) contributed more than 5% to the construction of the agroecosystem's resilience in Offinso Municipal District and Adansi North District, respectively. A representative from the Federated Commodities Licenced Buying Company stressed the need to integrate desirable shade trees in cocoa farms to provide a microclimate for sustainable cocoa production, control soil erosion and maintain soil moisture. A cocoa farmer shared that \"_The variation in leaf colour, number of cherelles and fruiting potential of cocoa trees growing under shade and unshaded cocoa trees gives a clear indication of the importance of shade trees to cocoa trees_\". Another believed that \"_despite the established relationship between shade and cocoa yield, failure to control the shade through timely pruning will result in black pod diseases_\". These expert judgements and cocoa farmers' testimonies confirm the extensive discussion on the relevance of shade in cocoa farms [51; 52; 53]. It was expected that the cultivation of other food crops would record higher figures to signal their unique relevance if cocoa farmers were to be resilient to stressors. A farmer from the Offinso Municipal District reiterated that \"_Banana is cultivated to initially provide support for the planted cocoa seedlings and later as a source of shade to the farm. The root exudates from banana stems moisturise the soil which stimulates the growth of the planted cocoa seedlings during the dry season. At maturity, they serve as food to the family and are seasonally harvested and sold to earn income to fund our cocoa farming operations_\". Per the weighting matrix, another variable that is instrumental in the construction of resilience in the cocoa agroecosystem is the quality of the soil. Reduced soil organic carbon in cocoa production landscapes affects cocoa yield drastically [54; 55; 56]. A study by [55] revealed that about 50% of farmers draw a relationship between soil fertility improvement and the integration of trees in cocoa fields due to litter fall. Cocoa farmers refer to farmlands that do not produce bumper harvests as \"barren lands\". They indicated that numerous efforts and practices such as fallowing, manuring and compost application are low-cost practices that rejuvenate the soil nutrients and structure. In already established cocoa farms, farmers in Ayokoa indicated \"_the essence of applying compost and manure from poultry droppings but emphasised that skills must be developed through training before applying them in the farms_\". Another common practice in such fields that needs no training and is widely practised among cocoa farmers is \"proka\" (cleared weeds are left on the farmland to decompose and enrich the soil instead of burning or disposing of them). The resilience of a farm to climate change to any extent is influenced by the breed of crop planted. The cocoa farmers interviewed generally cited productivity and longevity as the main factors to be considered when selecting a cocoa breed for propagation. In a related study, it was reported that factors that influence farmers' choice of cocoa variety included time to maturity (90%), resistance to pests and diseases (67%), expert advice from extension agents (62%) and availability (49%) [57]. Known to mature early and resistant to drought, pests and diseases, farmers in both study areas scored the hybrid variety 5 (highest) on the 0-5 scale.