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This study relies on a triple-hurdle model to estimate the factors that determine farmers’ decision to participate in a peer dissemination project and then share the knowledge gained with other far...

Despite sustained efforts to promote climate-smart technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), adoption remains low. At the same time, the downside risks associated with climate change and food insec...

Most studies on the novel COVID-19 pandemic have focused mainly on human health, food systems, and employment with limited studies on how farmers implement sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) in response to the pandemic. This study examines how perceptions of COVID-19 shocks influence the adoption of SAPs among smallholder farmers in Ghana. We find that perceptions of COVID-19 shocks influence the probability and intensity of SAPs adoption. Secondly, households who anticipated COVID-19 shocks recorded heterogeneity effects in the combinations (complementarity and substitutability) of SAPs. Farmers who anticipated an increase in input prices and loss of income due to COVID-19 recorded the highest complementarity association between pesticide and zero tillage while farmers who expected limited market access reported the highest complementarity between mixed cropping and mulching. Farmers who projected a decrease in output prices complements pesticides with mixed cropping. The findings suggest that understanding the heterogeneity effects in the combinations of SAPs due to COVID-19 shocks is critical to effectively design, target and disseminate sustainable intensification programs in a post-pandemic period.

Quality and psychosocial factors influencing the purchase of orangefleshed sweetpotato bread, process for determining drivers for orange‐fleshed sweetpotato bread., Summary Fried sweetpotato quality is important for variety adoption in West Africa. To inform breeding efforts, the study developed a product profile for sweetpotato chunk fries using mixed qualitative and quantitative methods. Root characteristics, processing attributes, in‐mouth attributes and appearance of fried product were critical to final product quality. Raw roots should be hard, have smooth skin and no off‐odours. Peeled roots should be hard to slice and not sticky. Stickiness and moist surface indicate high moisture content, associated with excessive oil absorption during frying. Hard to slice roots connote high dry matter. Fried product should be crisp, slightly sugary and mealy, have a uniform colour with brown tint and not be soggy. Crispness, mealiness and short frying time with limited oil absorption may be functions of starch. Understanding starch characteristics and other attributes that contribute to quality fried sweetpotato is critical for breeding sweetpotato genotypes with superior quality for frying.

This study examines the relationship between parental time poverty, child work, and school attendance in Ghana using data from the sixth and seventh rounds of the Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS6 and GLSS7). Results of the analysis indicate an increasing decline in child enrolment in public schools (from 9% to 6%) among time poor household heads. In addition, parental time poverty increases children's walking hours to and from school and private school enrolment. We observed heterogeneity of parental time poverty on child work in relation to the location of households and gender disaggregation. Child work and school attendance-reducing effect of parental time poverty is mainly prevalent among male children but mixed for location. Our result is robust to the alternative estimation method of addressing endogeneity and further shows that household income is the primary channel through which time poverty influences child work and school attendance.The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12187-022-09926-4 10.1007/s12187-022-09926-4.

PurposeThis study aims to examine the comparative link between mobile money (MoMo) and entrepreneurship in East Africa. Apart from analysing the data to examine locational, gender and age heterogeneities in the MoMo–entrepreneurship nexus, the authors explore the potential roles of digital savings and access to digital credit in serving as transmission channels in the link between MoMo adoption and entrepreneurship.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses nationally representative samples from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda which were extracted from the fifth wave of the InterMedia Financial Inclusion Insights (FII) Program. The authors employ a suite of quasi-experimental microeconometric techniques—standard instrumental variable estimation, Lewbel two-stage least squares (2SLS) and propensity score matching.FindingsOverall, the authors’ preferred endogeneity-corrected result suggests that adopters of MoMo are 24.4 percentage points more likely to engage in entrepreneurship. This result is robust to alternative ways of conceptualising MoMo adoption and different methods used in resolving endogeneity. The association between MoMo and entrepreneurship is stronger in Kenya compared to Uganda and not significant in Tanzania. The significant positive association between MoMo and entrepreneurship is observed among women and rural residents and not for their male and urban-located counterparts. MoMo significantly enhances entrepreneurship among the youth and adults but not the elderly. Digital savings and access to digital credit serve as important channels through which FinTech adoption influences entrepreneurship.Practical implicationsThe entrepreneurship-enhancing effect of MoMo adoption can be extended to discuss the possibility of employing MoMo as a policy tool to contribute to the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal (SGD) 8 which seeks to ensure full and productive employment and decent work for all. Incomes that accrue from entrepreneurial activities can also increase households' purchasing power to decrease poverty (SDG 1), reduce food insecurity (SDG 2) and provide resources needed to purchase clean and modern cooking and lighting fuels (SGD 7).Social implicationsThe growing rate of unemployment and vulnerable employment in Africa has been an issue of concern to policy makers. These problems have been caused by the inability of policy makers to create adequate jobs. The study’s findings show that policies geared towards enhancing the diffusion of MoMo can augment efforts being made by governments to decrease the unemployment rate in Africa through increased entrepreneurship. The employment effect of MoMo can also be realised through the emergence of digital entrepreneurship which has been identified as having the potential to transform African economies to knowledge-based economies for sustainable development.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the MoMo literature by deviating from the focus of existing studies which have emphasised more on the intermediate outcome (performance) and less on the immediate (i.e. entrepreneurship or small business venturing). This helps to highlight the entrepreneurship effect of MoMo which has evolved from a simple peer-to-peer payment system to a complex one that provides savings, credit, insurance and other products.

Triple S (Storage in Sand and Sprouting) is a root-based system for conserving and multiplying sweetpotato planting material at the household level. In sub-Saharan Africa, farmers predominantly source planting material by cutting vines from volunteer plants that sprout from roots left in the field from a previous crop. However, it takes 6 to 8 weeks after the rains start to produce enough vines for planting material, and normally these vines are infected by sweetpotato diseases and pests carried over from previous crops. Where rainfall is unpredictable, farmers can use Triple S to take advantage of the whole growing season, planting and harvesting early to obtain food, higher yields, and income. Triple S facilitates household retention and adoption of new sweetpotato varieties, notably the beta-carotene-rich, orange-fleshed varieties. Triple S PLUS is the combined innovation package of core Triple S components and complementary components used to scale the innovation. These included good agricultural practices, different storage containers, local multiplication and sales of planting material, and a multimedia communication strategy for training and extension to encourage the uptake of Triple S. Components were at different levels of scaling readiness. This chapter explores evidence from Ethiopia and Ghana (2018–2019) on the extent to which exposure to different communication channels and their combinations influenced the uptake of Triple S PLUS by male and female farmers, the partnering arrangements that supported this, and the resulting changes in food security. We discuss implications for future scaling initiatives.

The aim of this study was to understand the impact of fertilizer use on maize yields in Ghana based on a survey among 1,363 farmers. Farmers were grouped into four typologies using Principal Component Analysis and stepwise regression to analyze the effects of fertilizer and other factors on yield and nutrient use efficiency (NUE). A partial factor productivity of 9.8–12.1 kg grain/kg fertilizer and an agronomic efficiency of 1.2–3.7 kg grain/kg N were found among the typologies. While use of NPK with sulfur and magnesium, are necessary for yield increase, the low NUE may hamper agricultural intensification. A targeted learning pathway for the farmers with most suitable characteristics for attaining highest maize productivity could serve as an example for less well performing farmers. Policies and programs in Ghana, such as Planting for Food and Jobs program that promote fertilizer application, must be redesigned to include measures that increase NUE.

This study evaluated grain yield performance, stability and agronomic nitrogen-use efficiency (AE) of twelve maize populations under three nitrogen (N) rates at two locations in the Guinea and Sudan savannah zones of Ghana in 2014 and 2015. The N rates used were 0, 30, and 90 kg N ha−1. Computations were made for grain yield and AE. Populations × nitrogen interactions were significant for grain yield and AE at the three N rates. The mean yield of the populations under 0, 30, and 90 kg N ha−1 were 1.42, 4.12, and 6.80 t ha−1, respectively. Mean AE of the populations under low-N and high-N was 90.34 and 59.73 kg kg−1, respectively. Populations LNP-Syn-W, TZPB-LN-Syn and IWD-C2-Syn-F2 were efficient under both low-N and high-N inputs and produced 229.17 kg ha−1 and 572.5 kg ha−1 more grains than the average yield of all the populations under low-N and high-N, respectively. The results of this study indicated that the highest response to selection of N-efficient maize populations is achieved under low-N when the grain yield reduction at low-N is 39% of those of high-N environments. Keywords: Grain yield stability, Low soil nitrogen, Nitrogen use efficiency, Genotype × nitrogen interaction

Agricultural training programs remain one of the primary mechanisms for disseminating modern and climate-smart technologies with the aim to improve the welfare outcomes of smallholder farmers. With persistent low agricultural productivity in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), the content, effectiveness, and mode of delivery of training programs remain a debate. In this paper, we examine the adoption, productivity, and income effects of participating in a novel comprehensive agricultural training program (CATP) involving cowpea farmers in northern Ghana by using the endogenous switching regression (ESR) model. The CATP requires farmers to complete a set of modules on good agronomic practices to gain informal certification. The results indicate that participating in the CATP increases the adoption of climate-smart cowpea varieties, productivity, and cowpea income by 75, 15, and 24% points, respectively, compared to their mean levels. These positive welfare effects of participating in the CATPs confirm the need to increase capacity-enhancing activities in agricultural development projects, and design mechanisms to eliminate barriers to participation among rural farm households., Highlights • Comprehensive agricultural training programs (CATPs) facilitate the dissemination of climate-smart technologies. • Limited evidence of comprehensive agricultural training programs among practitioners. • Participation in CATP is significantly enhanced by socio-demographic and institutional factors. • Participation in CATP increases the adoption of climate-smart cowpea varieties, yield, and cowpea income. • The gains in welfare outcomes can be consolidated through agricultural development projects.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health issue with disruption effects in the agricultural food systems especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where most of the population is engaged in the agricultural sector. While prices of food commodities continue to increase, farmers are likely to be food insecure or market-oriented by allocating land resources between commercial and staple crops. This study provides new evidence on the determining factors of cropland allocation decisions within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study employs the probit and seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) models on 309 farm households. The results reveal that socio-economic, production, institutional, and political factors significantly influence the choice of cropland allocation decisions and the size of cropland allocated to legumes and cereals. Beyond these factors, we find that COVID-19 education increases land area allocated to staples while farmers' perception that COVID-19 will impact negatively on agricultural production leads to an increase in the area under commercial crop (soybean) production. The result suggests that promoting farmer education on the disruptive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and understanding farmer perceptions of the disruptive effects of the COVID-19 will guide future adaptation and mitigation strategies as well as determining the "best" possible cropland allocation decision.

Peanut production contributes to food security in northern Ghana due to its ability to tolerate drought and survive on marginal lands. This notwithstanding, poor handling along the value chain favors aflatoxin contamination, a threat to human and animal life. Farmer-led improved storage practice, a potential solution to aflatoxin contamination, have been promoted in northern Ghana. However, there is limited evidence on the factors influencing the use of the improved storage system that may guide dissemination efforts. Using the Cragg’s two stage model, our results show that the probability and intensity of adopting the improved storage structure is principally and significantly influenced by economic active household members, storing of peanut in other places relative to the field, and location of farmer residence. In disseminating the improved peanut storage structure, the identified factors must be incorporated in the selection criteria to ensure maximum uptake and usage. Farmer training programs that incorporate both good agronomic practices and good storage practices must be intensified to reduce postharvest losses due to aflatoxin contamination. These strategies will help mitigate the harmful effect of aflatoxin, ensure economic sustainability, and enhance food security.

Innovation platforms (IPs) are a way of organizing multistakeholder interactions, marshalling ideas, people and resources to address challenges and opportunities embedded in complex settings. The approach has its roots in theories of complexity, the concept of innovation systems and practices of participatory action research. IPs have been widely adopted across Africa and beyond in recent years as a “must have” tool in a range of “for development” modes of agricultural research. Our experiences with establishing and facilitating nine IPs in local settings in west and central Africa contribute to understanding factors that impact on their effectiveness. The nine IPs were variously focused on developing dairy, crop and/or meat value chains by strengthening mixed crop-livestock production systems or seed systems. Using case study methods, we identified variables that contribute to explaining the performance of these IPs in relation to six domains of change in the agricultural system and the sustainability of changes. Thematic analysis was guided by a conceptual framework which grouped variables into four categories (context, structure, conduct, and process) that interact to influence IP performance. Stronger market connections and value chains were generated through some of these IPs but the most prevalent changes overall were in farm productivity and technical knowledge of producers. The structures evolved in some IPs, akin to those of producer collectives, suggested they were filling an institutional gap locally. The effect of the IPs on deeper level institutions that influence agricultural systems and food security was modest, constraining prospects for the IPs to generate impact at scale. Impacts from the IPs on research and development organisations were uncommon but had transformative significance. Our conceptual framework did not offer optimal guidance to understanding how the many variables that contributed to performance of these IPs combined and sequenced, but the pattern of interactions was consistent with increased social capital being the prime mediator for change. Achieving greater prospects for transformational change and impact at scale warrants at least equal attention to three other interconnected change pathways: through markets, institutions and innovation capacity. Important factors for increased impact are individuals and organisations with capacity to purposefully build and manage inter-organisational and cross-scale networks, early diagnostic studies of the institutional landscape, and adaptive processes of critical reflection and learning that continue beyond the short term.

Several studies have highlighted the adoption of clean energy fuels and the militating factors since the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, the lack of empirical research on the role of time poverty limits the formulation of holistic evidence-based policies in addressing the widespread adoption of solid biomass fuel (SBF). This paper investigates the relationship between time poverty and households’ adoption of SBF using nationally representative household-level data. By employing different time poverty cutoffs and the biprobit model, the results indicate that time poverty reduces the adoption of SBF while consumption poverty increases the adoption of SBF compared to non-poor households. Moreover, the study finds that households that are doubly poor are more likely to adopt clean energy (liquefied petroleum gas). The result suggests that doubly poor households may be able to partially offset the positive effects of consumption poverty on the adoption of SBF by investing more of their time in activities that improve their income level and the adoption of clean fuels. These findings suggest that major government institutions such as the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum should vigorously promote Sustainable Energy for All initiative.

This paper established a positive relationship between market orientation and intensity of commercialization among rural farm households in northern Ghana. The IV Tobit regression estimate suggests that intensity of maize commercialization is significantly determined by education, agro-ecology, household size, total livestock units, farm size, access to formal markets and market orientation. In addition, a highly and unbiased significant positive effect is observed between market orientation and intensity of maize commercialization after controlling for endogeneity in market orientation. Intensity of maize commercialization increased by 0.86% for a 0.1 unit increase in the market orientation index. The empirical implications of the results are discussed.

Peanut production contributes to food security in northern Ghana due to its ability to tolerate drought and survive on marginal lands. This notwithstanding, poor handling along the value chain favors aflatoxin contamination, a threat to human and animal life. Farmer-led improved storage practice, a potential solution to aflatoxin contamination, have been promoted in northern Ghana. However, there is limited evidence on the factors influencing the use of the improved storage system that may guide dissemination efforts. Using the Cragg’s two stage model, our results show that the probability and intensity of adopting the improved storage structure is principally and significantly influenced by economic active household members, storing of peanut in other places relative to the field, and location of farmer residence. In disseminating the improved peanut storage structure, the identified factors must be incorporated in the selection criteria to ensure maximum uptake and usage. Farmer training programs that incorporate both good agronomic practices and good storage practices must be intensified to reduce postharvest losses due to aflatoxin contamination. These strategies will help mitigate the harmful effect of aflatoxin, ensure economic sustainability, and enhance food security.

We apply a Structural Ricardian Model (SRM) to farm‐level data from Ghana for seven principal food crops in order to model the factors which influence farmers' decisions about which food crops to grow and the revenue conditional on these choices. Our application of the SRM incorporates a flexible functional form to allow for the possibility that the effects of temperature and rainfall may not be linearly separable. We use this model as a basis for simulations of the effects of climate change. These simulations suggest that extreme climate change will lead to a significant reduction in the average net revenue per hectare from maize, which accounts for over half of current food production. Across a range of climate change scenarios, there is also substantial substitution of maize for heat‐tolerant millet, and a reduction in the cultivation of other crops. Under most of the climate change scenarios that we consider, these results imply a substantial reduction in the aggregate value of agricultural production, since millet is the lowest‐value crop.

This study examines the relationship between food hardship, school attendance, and education expenditure using nationally representative data from a survey of 14,009 households in Ghana. After controlling for household, and geographical characteristics and using a standard instrumental variable approach to control for unobservable characteristics, we find a statistically significant negative relationship between food hardship and the number of children attending secondary, private, public, technical and vocational school, and expenditure on education. A differential analysis based on welfare stratification indicates a statistically significant positive relationship between food hardship and male children attending school, and the number of children attending private school for those in high-income households.

This study provides new evidence of the impact of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) – row planting and drought-tolerant maize varieties - on farm and welfare outcomes by estimating a multinomial endogenous switching regression model that corrects for selection bias and farmer heterogeneity in CSA choice. Application of our model to panel observations of 438 households in Ghana show that adoption of CSA increases both yield and intensity of maize commercialization but negatively affect own consumption. Specifically, the magnitude of the impact is relatively higher for adopters of row planting relative to adopters of drought-tolerant maize seeds. These results suggest the need for development practitioners to increase awareness and emphasize the importance of row planting as a key component of climate-smart agriculture.

Drought and high temperatures are major threats to sustainable food production and consequently the livelihoods of the majority of Africans who depend on fragile agricultural systems. As a response to these threats, climate-smart agricultural technologies, such as drought-tolerant maize (DTM) varieties, have been developed and promoted on the continent. It is well-known that the adoption of improved technologies generally impacts positively on the wellbeing of adopters. Nevertheless, the magnitude of the impact of any technology or intervention is always an empirical question. Therefore, this study sought to determine the factors that influence the adoption of DTM and subsequently estimate how yield, commercialization intensity, and farm income are affected by adoption. To establish causation, we relied on observations from 200 farm households in the Northern Region of Ghana and estimated an instrumental variable regression. Consistent with findings reported in the literature, we found that DTM adoption is primarily driven by access to seed, extension service, labor availability, and location of farm households. In addition, we found that DTM adoption positively impacts on yield and commercialization intensity. The magnitude of impact is not trivial. For example, the yield of farm households increased by more than 150% (936 kg/ha) following DTM adoption. These results imply that policy-makers and development practitioners must support research and promotion of climate-smart agriculture to improve adoption and welfare indicators, such as yield and commercialization.

Farmers are already responding to climate change by adjusting their practices. An important adaptation strategy is the switching of farm types, that is, switching from a vulnerable farming system to one that is more resilient. Using household, farm, and climate data (8700 observations) from Ghana, we estimate a multinomial logit in order to determine the factors that influence the selection of farm types and the implications of those choices. As expected, we find that climate determines the choice of farming system. Based on the multinomial estimates, a simulation of the effects of climate change shows that farmers will likely adapt by switching from environmentally sensitive specialised food-crop and tree-based (plantation) farms to specialised livestock and mixed (food-crop and livestock) farms. All things being equal, a decline in tree-based farms resulting from a climate induced agro-ecological shift (for example, conversion of forest to savannah) or a shortening of the growing season will imply a drop in the aggregate value of agricultural output since plantations are currently the most profitable farm type.

In our application of Cragg's (double hurdle) model, we explicitly address functional form misspecification by first using nonparametric regression to identify the functional relationship between aflatoxin infestation and a vector of agronomic and socioeconomic variables. Based on the established functional forms, we then apply Cragg's model to estimate the determinants of farm-level aflatoxin infestation. As expected, we find that aflatoxin infestation in northern Ghana is determined by pre-production and post-production factors. However, we estimate insignificant effects for farmer characteristics. An assessment of the importance of functional form shows that an inappropriate function can lead to biased estimates of the Cragg model.

BackgroundThe rapid growth of mobile phones in Ghana has opened up the possibility of delivering timely and useful weather and market information to farmers at costs lower than traditional agricultural extension services. In this paper, we assess the usefulness, constraints, and factors likely to influence farmers’ decisions to patronize mobile phone-based weather and market information.MethodsWe rely on primary data from 310 farmers in the Upper West Region, an understudied part of Ghana. We subject the data to three types of analysis. First, we model farmers’ decision to patronize mobile phone-based weather and market information by estimating a binary logit model. Second, we use descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing to analyse the level of usefulness of mobile phone-based weather and market information. We disaggregate the analysis by sex, income status, and age group. Finally, we use qualitative analysis to summarize the constraints associated with the utilization of mobile phone-based weather and market information.ResultsWe find that contact with agricultural extension agents and farmer-to-farmer extension services significantly influences farmers’ decision to patronize mobile phone-based weather and market information. Regardless of sex, income status, and age group, farmers generally rate mobile phone-based weather and market information as very useful. We identify inexact information, complex text messages, information that are too costly to implement, and poor infrastructure as the constraints to the utilization of mobile phone-based weather and market information.ConclusionIn order to improve the utilization of mobile phone-based weather and market information, disseminators of mobile phone-based information such as Esoko should constantly update and provide client-specific information. Improvements in mobile phone networks and related services will enhance the utilization of mobile phone-based weather and market information.

Aims: Even though screening of videos to create awareness about agricultural technologies may not be a novelty, adaptation of a motor tricycle for that purpose is an innovation. The study therefore, sought to identify the awareness creation technique that is most preferred by farmers in the Northern Region of Ghana, estimate the per unit cost of creating awareness using various techniques and as well, examine the socio-economic factors that are likely to influence farmers’ decision to patronize Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) video shows as an awareness creation technique. Study Design: Primary data collected through farmer interviews formed the basis for analysis in this study. Qualitative and quantitative data generated from the questionnaire administration included types and quality of awareness creation techniques utilized by farmers, farmers socioeconomic characteristics among others. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in eight districts in the Northern Original Research Article American Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 4(11): , 2014 1289 Region of Ghana in September 2013. The eight districts fall naturally (based on culture) into two ethnic groups, which are the Dagombas and Gonjas. The groups (Dagbon and Gonja Land) formed two strata from which respondents were sampled for the study. Methodology: A multi stage sampling technique was used to select 322 farmers who were interviewed. Data collected and observations made were subjected to descriptive and logit statistical analysis as well as Friedman test in order to generate results for discussion. Results: The Friedman test indicates that on-farm demonstration (1.49) was unanimously ranked by the respondents as their most preferred method of receiving ISFM information. On-stage drama (3.0) and radio (3.0) were ranked as the least preferred methods of receiving information on ISFM technologies in Dagbon and Gonja Land respectively. Video show (2.81) was ranked by the respondents as the third most preferred method of receiving information on ISFM technologies. Use of video show and on-farm demonstration were respectively found to be the least and most expensive methods of disseminating ISFM technologies to farmers. Whereas it costs about 1 Ghana cedi (GH¢1.09) to screen an ISFM video to a farmer, it costs about thirty times (GH¢31.10) more to expose a farmer to ISFM by establishing and managing an on-farm demonstration. Results of the logit analysis indicates that being male (0.09), belonging to a relatively large household (0.02), not having access to extension (0.20) or being relatively young (0.01) are factors that are likely to positively influence farmers’ decision to patronize ISFM video shows. Conclusion and Recommendation: The study concludes that agricultural technology interventions should employ either on-farm demonstrations or video shows, especially when constrained to adopt only a single awareness creation technique. Projects that are cash constrained should opt for video shows by specifically relying on motor tricycle video vans in order to reduce cost. For maximum impact, female farmers, members of relatively small households and elderly farmers should be targeted. Future studies should focus on the effectiveness of different awareness creation techniques and their interactive effects.

This study assessed the determinants of Choice of Indigenous Climate Related Strategies by Smallholder Farmers in Northern Ghana using primary data obtained through community focus group discussions and household survey, and subjected to the Multinomial Logit regression model. The empirical results reveal that presence of a market, informal credit from friends and relatives, location of farmer, farmer-to-farmer extension, noticing of a decrease in rainfall and noticing an increase in temperature influence the choice of indigenous climate related strategies. There is therefore the need to improve smallholder farmers’ access to market, agricultural extension services and their awareness of changes in rainfall and temperature.

Maize is one of the most important food crops in Ghana even though its production has not reached self sufficiency levels. Drought and striga infestation are among the most important production constraints of maize in Ghana. Promising high yielding, drought and striga tolerant maize varieties are being evaluated by CSIR and IITA in participatory on-farm trials and demonstrations. These varieties however need to meet farmers’ varietal preferences in order for them to adopt. This study therefore sought to assess farmers’ preference for the different drought tolerant maize varieties, and determine factors that influence their choices. Kendall’s coefficient of concordance was used to test the level of agreement between farmers on their preferences. The ordered logistic regression was used to estimate the determinants of farmer’s preference using cross-sectional observations from 120 maize farmers in the Transitional and Savannah zones of Ghana. Results indicate that maize varieties that are early maturing (2.38) and drought tolerant (2.45) were most preferred by farmers. Area under maize cultivation, fertilizer usage and family size are the factors that were found to influence farmers’ preference for improved maize varieties. These factors should therefore be considered in varietal promotion. Key words: Drought tolerant, farmers’ preferences, determinant, savannah and transition zones of Ghana, ordered logit.

This paper examines the impact of participation in Agricultural Value Chain Mentorship Project on farm efficiency and income of soybean farmers in Northern Region of Ghana. Due to the exogenous and non-random assignment of the intervention, propensity score matching analysis was used to estimate impact on a cross-section of 200 smallholder farmers. Participation in farmer mentorship project impacts positively on farm technical efficiency by 28 percent. However, participation did not significantly translate into higher farm income. This finding suggests that exposing farmers to agricultural development projects may directly increase their technical capability wtihtin the short term but does not guarantee higher income. The design of any agricultural development project must incorporate the specific needs of farmers to ensure ownership, increased participation and sustainability.

The objective of this study was to document soybean production practices, estimate the level of profitability and identify constraints to soybean production in Saboba and Chereponi districts of the Northern Region of Ghana based on gender. Primary data from 140 farmers were subjected to profitability analysis and Kendall’s Coefficient of Concordance. Soybean production was found to be unprofitable in Chereponi District for both male and female farmers but profitable for male farmers in Saboba District. Constraints to soybean production include lack of right over land, selling of produce on credit, among others. The level of profitability of soybean production can be improved by addressing constraints such as unfavourable land tenure arragements, unfavourable market conditions inter alia.

Tomato price is an important indicator for farmers to continue producing the crop in Ghana. There are sometimes alleged reports that farmers tend to commit suicide when they are unable to meet their expected tomato price and thereby unable to recover their cost of production. However, data available indicate that the domestic production of fresh tomato is on the decline. The paper therefore, assesses the factors that affect whether or not farmers can receive their expected tomato price. A multistaged sample survey of 215 farmers across three regions was subjected to the binomial probit model. Results indicate that for farmers to receive their expected price, they have to adapt to produce the crop in the drier seasons, where tomato shortage can be observed. Farmer education and experience are also important factors that are likely to help farmers receive their expected tomato price. The studytherefore recommends the promotion of strategies that are cost reducing especially in the dry season and also to improve access to critical production techniques.

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.

This study analyzes the level and determinants of technical efficiency of soybean farms in the Saboba and Chereponi districts of northern Ghana. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 200 soybean farmers from which cross-sectional data was collected using a structured questionnaire. Data collected includes farmers’ socio-economic characteristics such as age and education as well as input and output quantities and prices. Data was analyzed using the stochastic frontier approach. Results showed a mean technical efficiency estimate of 53 percent and the return to scale was 0.75. Location of farm, participation in the Agricultural Value Chain Mentorship Project and age of farmer were found to be important in explaining technical inefficiency among soybean farmers. This implies that farmers in the short run can increase their production by 47 percent by adopting practices of the best soybean farms in Saboba and Chereponi districts of northern Ghana.

Innovation platforms are established to facilitate open communication and collaboration among various actors usually within a value chain to promote collective resource management. The concept of innovation platform as a strategy of entry point for operationalization, validation and dissemination of agricultural technology have received much attention in recent times among researchers in Ghana. However, very limited information exists on the factors that influence willingness of farmers' participation. The present study identified the factors influencing willingness to participate in innovation platform and also tested the level of agreement among the identified constraints associated with participation using the Probit model and Kendall's coefficient of concordance respectively. Data for the study was collected from a cross sectional primary observations of 250 smallholder rice farmers in northern Ghana. The study observes, inter alia, that age of household head, household size and household income significantly influenced willingness to participate on the platform. The Kendall's coefficient of concordance value indicated that there was 21 percent agreement between the rankings of the participation constraints faced by the sampled rice farmers. Income-earning and younger household heads must be targeted coupled with situation of the platforms close to smallholder farmers to encourage participation.