scholarly journals Fertilizer Subsidy and Rice Productivity in Ghana: A Microeconomic Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
Shaibu Baanni Azumah ◽  
Abraham Zakaria
Keyword(s):  
Sex Education ◽  
Treatment Effect ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Switching Regression ◽  
Rice Productivity ◽  
Subsidy Programs

Across Africa, agricultural productivity continues to decline due to poor soil fertility. Smallholder farmers have less access to fertilizers to improve yields. Past and present governments in Ghana have made some efforts to raise productivity and to deepen the economic and social potentials of the agricultural sector by implementing fertilizer subsidy programs. Using data from 543 smallholder rice farmers in northern Ghana, we estimated both endogenous switching regression and treatment effect models to examine the factors that influenced participation in fertilizer subsidy programs, and rice productivity differences among beneficiary and non-beneficiary farmers. This was to address heterogeneity and biases stemming from unobservable characteristics at farm and farmer levels. Farmers’ participation in fertilizer subsidy programs was influenced by age, sex, education, farm size, membership of Farmer-Based Organization (FBO), access to media, knowledge of integrated soil and water conservation (SWC) practices, farm to market distance and herbicides application. Productivity of rice was mainly influenced by age, knowledge of integrated SWC, seed and herbicides usage. The outcomes from the treatment effect model revealed a negatively and significant effect of fertilizer subsidy on rice productivity. It is recommended that ways to improve the effectiveness of the fertilizer subsidy policy and distributional mechanisms to farmers should be given much attention to unlock the agricultural potential of Ghana.

scholarly journals Farmers’ Exposure to Climate Hazards and Reforestation in Selected African Villages: An Endogenous-Switching Regression Model

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tolulope Olayemi Oyekale ◽  
Abayomi Oyekale
Keyword(s):  
Burkina Faso ◽  
Treatment Effect ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Average Treatment Effect ◽  
Tree Planting ◽  
Switching Regression ◽  
Endogenous Switching Regression ◽  
Hazard Exposure ◽  
Endogenous Switching ◽  
Household Headship

Abstract Background: Deforestation remains a serious concern for Africa’s economic development and global climatic stability. Emphases are now placed on promoting some essential adaptive and mitigation strategies among smallholder farmers. This paper analyzed the effect of exposure to climate-related hazards on tree planting among smallholder farmers in nine selected African countries. The data were from baseline surveys which were conducted by the CGIAR’s research programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). The included countries were Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda. Data were analyzed with Endogenous Switching regression considering the endogeneity potentials of climate-hazard exposure. Results: The results showed that Uganda and Ethiopia had the highest average numbers of tree planting with 1.082 and 1.000 respectively, while Senegal (89.86%), Kenya (87.77%), Burkina Faso (82.86%) and Ethiopia (82.86%) had the highest exposure to climate-related hazards. Endogenous Switching regression results showed that climate hazard exposure was truly endogenous going by statistical significance of the Wald Chi Square test (p<0.05) and it was significantly influenced by female household headship, perception of more droughts, floods and low ground water. The number of tree that were planted increased significantly (p<0.05) with climate hazard exposure, degraded land areas, asset indices and residence in East Africa, while it reduced with female household headship. In addition, Average Treatment Effect (ATE) result indicated that an average household will plant 0.745 trees more when it had been previously exposed to climate shocks while Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATET) revealed that an average household that was exposed to climate hazards would plant 0.54 more trees than it would if it had not been exposed to hazards. Conclusion: The major implication of the findings is that without having previously experienced some climatic adversities, farmers may not see the need to engage in tree planting as a mitigating strategy. It was concluded that many farmers had been affected by climate-related shocks and efforts to safeguard future climate through tree planting should be gender sensitive and concentrated among previously affected farmers.

Increasing rice productivity in Ghana: Do savings with rural and community banks matter?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Enoch Yao Vukey ◽  
Irene S. Egyir ◽  
Edward Asiedu ◽  
Nana Afranaa Kwapong
Keyword(s):  
Rice Yield ◽  
Agricultural Productivity ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Switching Regression ◽  
Community Banks ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Rice Productivity

PurposeThis paper analysed the motives behind farmers' savings with Rural and Community Banks (RCBs) and the effect of these savings on rice yield in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta region of Ghana.Design/methodology/approachA multi-stage sampling approach was used to draw a random sample of 222 rice farmers, and a structured questionnaire was employed to collect cross-sectional data. A Likert scale was used to rank the motive behind farmers' savings while the endogenous switching regression model was used to estimate the effect of savings on rice yield.FindingsThe results of the study showed that most farmers mobilise savings to enhance farm investment which is critical to increasing rice productivity. Improved labour and fertiliser use had a positive influence on rice yield, while farm size had an inverse relation with rice yield. Further, the findings show that savings with RCBs help mobilise the necessary finance to enhance rice productivity. In terms of the treatment effect of savings, the results indicate that farmers who patronise saving products of RCBs recorded a statistically significant average yield of 1.41 Mt/ha more than those not patronising saving products from any bank.Practical implicationsWhile the literature on agricultural finance focuses largely on credit, this study demonstrates that savings hold significant benefits for the development of agriculture through productivity gains. The importance of this demonstration is further shown by the fact that credit access depends on the ability to save in most developing countries.Social implicationsThere is a need to educate farmers about the essence of patronising formal savings products.Originality/valueThis study represents the first attempt at linking farmers' savings to agricultural productivity using an econometric methodology in Ghana. The study serves as a foundation paper and for that matter will serve as a guide to future research on savings mobilisation and agricultural productivity nexus.

Determinants of Crop Diversification and Its Effects on Household Food Security in Northern Ghana

2020 ◽  
pp. 097674792093681
Author(s):  
Abdul Razak Baba ◽  
Abdul-Malik Abdulai
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Household Food Security ◽  
Crop Diversification ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Food Security Status ◽  
Northern Regions

This study analyses factors that determine smallholder farmers’ crop diversification decisions and their effects on household food security in Northern Ghana. A total of 1,284 households were sampled across the five northern regions of Ghana. Herfindahl Index for measuring crop diversification was used. The study found average crop diversity to be 0.55 and about 61 per cent of the sampled farmers had values above the average which indicated high crop diversification in the study area. The study also estimated the determinants of crop diversification and their effects on household dietary food security using the conditional mixed process model. Upon examining the determinants of crop diversification, occupation, technology adoption, labour, extension contact and farm size were identified as significant determinants. The study also computed the Household Food Consumption Score as a proxy for measuring food security. The result indicated that crop diversification contributes significantly to improving household food security status in Northern Ghana.

scholarly journals Organic Fertilizer Adoption, Household Food Access, and Gender-Based Farm Labor Use: Empirical Insights from Northern Ghana

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Bunbom Edward Daadi ◽  
Uwe Latacz-Lohmann
Keyword(s):  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Organic Fertilizer ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Household Food Security ◽  
Farm Labor ◽  
Switching Regression ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Fertilizer Adoption ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
And Gender

Abstract This paper examined organic fertilizer adoption and its effects on two household food security indicators and gender-based farm labor use among smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana. An endogenous switching regression analysis shows that observed and unobserved farmer background factors determine farmers’ decision to adopt organic fertilizer as well as the outcomes from adoption. On average, adoption is associated with an 11% increase in per capita food consumption and a 55% reduction in household food gap duration. Adoption is also related to an increased labor use by 5.9 (90%) of female worker days and 1.3 (9%) of male worker days per acre, placing nearly all (82%) of the increased labor burden on female farmhands. We recommend mitigation of factors that hinder farmers from adopting the input and provision of female-user-friendly labor-saving devices for organic fertilizer use tasks.

scholarly journals Technology adoption and technical efficiency of smallholder farmers in Tolon district of Ghana: double bootstrap DEA approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Tetteh Anang ◽  
Hamdiyah Alhassan ◽  
Gideon Danso-Abbeam
Keyword(s):  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Returns To Scale ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Contact Frequency ◽  
Double Bootstrap ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Constant Returns To Scale

Abstract The study explored the impact of improved variety adoption on technical efficiency of smallholder maize farmers in Tolon District of northern Ghana. Smallholder maize farmers in the study area were sampled using random sampling technique. Double bootstrap data envelopment analysis was applied to estimate technical efficiency and its determinants. The results indicate that producers in the study area have a bias-corrected technical efficiency of 57% under variable returns to scale (VRS) assumption and 52% under constant returns to scale (CRS) assumption. Controlling for potential endogeneity of the adoption variable, the results indicate that adoption of improved varieties enhance technical efficiency of maize farmers in the study area. Technical efficiency of the farmers increased with herd size but decreased with years of formal education, household size, extension contact, frequency of weeding, and farm size. Ensuring that improved seeds are made available and affordable to smallholder farmers and promotion of livestock rearing are policy measures likely to enhance technical efficiency of smallholder farmers.

scholarly journals Agriculture and Food Security in Northern Ghana

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Alhassan Bawa
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Food Utilization ◽  
Annual Growth Rate ◽  
Subsistence Level ◽  
Agricultural Growth ◽  
Agriculture Sector

In the northern part of Ghana, about 97.9 percent of households are engaged in crop farming such as maize, rice, sorghum, soy beans, cowpea, cassava, yam, cotton and vegetables, with few households engaging in poultry, livestock and pig rearing. Agricultural production is therefore the main activity in the northern sector of Ghana and is practiced mainly on seasonal and subsistence level. The Gross Domestic Product of the country has recorded an annual growth rate of about 4 to 8 percent within the past decade. Agricultural growth has been the major driver of poverty reduction. The agriculture sector is the largest source of employment for the people of northern Ghana, and is dominated by smallholder farmers. The challenges in the agriculture sector include human resource and managerial skills, natural resource management, technology development and food insecurity. Food security is a phenomenon resulting from multiple causes which are food availability, food accessibility, food utilization and food stability. About 5% of Ghanaian populace are food insecure. Additionally, about 2 million Ghanaian people are vulnerable to become food insecure. Growth in the agricultural sector has been more rapid as compared to that of the non-agricultural sectors in recent years, expanding by an average annual rate of 5.5%, compared to 5.2% for the economy as a whole. Agricultural growth however, depends mainly on rainfall patterns and land expansion. The objective of this paper was to review literature on food security in Ghana, agricultural contribution to food security in northern Ghana and some policy measures put in place by successive governments to reduce food insecurity in northern Ghana.

scholarly journals Effect of off-farm work on agricultural productivity: empirical evidence from northern Ghana

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.T. Anang
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Agricultural Productivity ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Farm Household ◽  
Switching Regression ◽  
Income Diversification ◽  
Farm Work ◽  
Rice Productivity ◽  
Household Heads

Abstract. In recent years, there has been increasing recognition of the importance of income diversification to agrarian households in developing countries. Empirical evidence of the effect of farm household income diversification on agricultural productivity remains scanty and inconclusive. An important policy question concerns the effect that farmer participation in off-farm work has on agricultural productivity. This paper answers that question by examining the factors that explain the decision of farm household heads to work off-farm and how this impacts farm productivity using a sample of 300 rice producing households in northern Ghana. Endogenous switching regression model supported by a treatment effect model was used to empirically assess the effect of off-farm work on agricultural productivity. Results show that engagement in off-farm work has a robust and positive impact on rice productivity. Farmers’ choice to work outside the farm thus contributed significantly to rice productivity of smallholders, confirming the role of income diversification in contributing to agricultural productivity of agrarian households.

scholarly journals Fertilizer Adoption and Use Intensity Among Smallholder Farmers in Northern Ghana: A Case Study of the AGRA Soil Health Project

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Martey ◽  
Alexander Nimo Wiredu ◽  
Prince M. Etwire ◽  
Mathias Fosu ◽  
S. S. J. Buah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Household Head ◽  
Mineral Fertilizer ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Truncated Regression ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Fertilizer Adoption

<p>Northern Ghana is characterized by food insecurity largely due to over reliance on rain-fed agriculture under low farm input conditions. The present study investigated the effect of factors influencing mineral fertilizer adoption and use intensity among smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana. A total of 330 smallholder farmers selected through multi-stage sampling technique were interviewed. Adoption of fertilizer technology was determined by age, nativity, farm size, access to credit, and distance to agricultural office. The result of the truncated regression estimates indicated that income of household head, membership of farmer association, distance to agricultural office, access to input shop, income earning household that do not participate in agricultural development project and income earning male headed household were the significant factors influencing fertilizer use intensity. Distance to agricultural office was a key positive determinant of fertilizer adoption and use intensity. The study recommends improvement in road infrastructure and technical training of agricultural extension agents. Farmer based organization must be trained on regular basis to enhance their productive skills and technology uptake.</p>

scholarly journals Off-farm participation and technical efficiency among smallholder farmers in the Northern Region, Ghana

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 35-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gideon Danso-Abbeam ◽  
Brightina A.A. Abban ◽  
Samuel A. Donkoh
Keyword(s):  
Regression Model ◽  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Stochastic Frontier ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Farm Income

The study aimed at investigating the effects of off-farm participation on technical efficiency of maize production in the Tolon district of the Northern Region, Ghana. The Logit regression model was used to analyze the determinants of off-farm participation while the stochastic frontier production function was used to model the determinants of maize output and technical efficiency. The empirical results from the logistic regression model indicate that age of farmer, educational attainment, farming experience, farm size, and previous farm income are significant drivers of farmers’ participation in off-farm activities. Farmers’ average technical efficiency level was 90.7% suggesting a 9.3% potential loss to inefficiency. Moreover, participation in off-farm activities had a negative influence on farmers’ technical efficiency level. The study, therefore, recommends that farm-level policy should be directed towards making the agricultural sector attractive by promoting investment and agricultural employment opportunities in the rural areas so as to ensure full commitment to farming activities. JEL code: Q22

scholarly journals Extensive and Improved Traditional Poultry Farming in Togo: A Comparative Analysis of Socioeconomic Characteristics of Farmers

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (35) ◽  
pp. 274
Author(s):  
Mawussi Kossivi Soviadan ◽  
Anselm Anibueze Enete ◽  
Chukwuemeka Uzoma Okoye ◽  
Kossivi Fabrice Dossa
Keyword(s):  
Program Implementation ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Socioeconomic Characteristics ◽  
Capacity Level ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Poultry Farming

Since 2014, the Agricultural Sector Support Program (PASA) has been assisting smallholder farmers in Togo with the adoption of Improved Traditional Poultry Farming Technique (ITPFT) in rural areas in order to create wealth and reduce poverty. This paper focuses on comparing the socioeconomic characteristics of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of government subsidies (PASA). Both random and purposive sampling techniques were used to select 400 farmers. The sample included 86 farmers who were program beneficiaries and 314 farmers who were not. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Results of analysis indicated that there is a significant difference in socioeconomic variables such as self-financing capacity, level of education, membership in cooperative societies, household size, farm size, and annual sale of poultry between program beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries prior to program implementation. Descriptive statistics show that five years after the program's implementation, annual poultry sales per farmer ranged from 0 to 1700 birds for beneficiaries and from 9 to 200 birds for non-beneficiaries. The turnover per farmer ranged from US $ 0 to US $ 42409 and from US$ 33 to US $ 996 for beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries, respectively. The profit per farmer ranged from US $ 0 to US $ 25446 for beneficiaries and from US $ 26 to US $ 797 for non-beneficiaries. The magnitude of the standard deviations of the potential outcome variables among beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries suggests that adoption rates of ITPFT may vary from one farmer to another. As a result, compared to non-beneficiaries, beneficiaries experienced a greater increase in potential outcomes five years after the program's implementation. Failure to comply with improved production technique on certain farms, despite receiving subsidies, is a factor that could negatively impact the effective, efficient, and optimal achievement of the program’s expected results. Further research will concentrate on determining the added value of this program through the use of appropriate and thorough econometric adoption and impact assessment methods.

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