scholarly journals Analysing the determinants, constraints and opportunities of smallholder farmers access to input markets: evidence from northern Ghana

2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-143
Author(s):  
Abdulai Adams
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Contract Farming ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Private Sector Participation ◽  
Input Source ◽  
Farmer Education ◽  
Input Markets ◽  
Significant Factors

Smallholder farmers face multiple constraints in accessing input markets. This study seeks to understand the dynamics that influence input markets in northern Ghana and the opportunities that exist for smallholder farmers to increase their productivity and welfare. Using a random sample of 448 households, the study applied the probit and non-parametric methods in identifying the factors that influence farmers’ access to input markets and the key constraints faced by them. The results show that access to extension services, access to finance, distance to the nearest input market, and input source are significant factors that would be likely to influence farmers’ access to input markets. Lack of finance, poor road network, and low prices of output are the main critically ranked constraints limiting farmers’ access to input markets. Policy initiatives should be geared toward strengthening extension service delivery, farmer education on inputs, improving feeder roads, and encouraging private sector participation in input markets. Available opportunities to leverage on and improve farmers’ access to input markets include the governments’ input subsidy programmes, existing large-scale agricultural projects, private agricultural companies with contract farming models, and extensive network of input dealers and aggregators in the communities. These findings are relevant for farmers, input dealers and policy makers working to improve farmers’ access to input markets.

scholarly journals An investigation of the effects of PICSA on smallholder farmers’ decision-making and livelihoods when implemented at large scale – The case of Northern Ghana

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Clarkson ◽  
Peter Dorward ◽  
Henny Osbahr ◽  
Francis Torgbor ◽  
Isaac Kankam-Boadu
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Northern Ghana

scholarly journals Impact of Participation in Contract Farming on Smallholder Farmers’ Income and Food Security in Rural Benin: PSM and LATE Parameter Combined

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Odountan Ambaliou Olounlade ◽  
Gu-Cheng Li ◽  
Sènakpon E. Haroll Kokoye ◽  
François Vihôdé Dossouhoui ◽  
Kuassi Auxence Aristide Akpa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Average Treatment Effect ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Security Level ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Contract Farming ◽  
The Impact

Investigated in this work is the impact of contract farming participation on smallholder farmers’ income and food security in rice crop production in Northern Benin using 400 randomly selected rice farmer households. Unlike previous studies, we corrected for both observed and unobserved biases by combining propensity score matching (PSM) and the local average treatment effect parameter (LATE). The results showed significant negative consequences of partaking in rice contract farming. We found evidence of significant negative effects on rice production income at a 1% level. The more the rice farmers join in contract farming, the lower the farm income became. Decreased food consumption was also a result of contract farming participation for potential participants by a score of 60.64, placing their households at the food security status level of poor food consumption because the quantity and nutritional quality of the food consumed were inadequate. Contract farming is, therefore, not a reasonable policy instrument that can help farmers increase their income and improve their food security level in the Alibori Department, Benin if farmers do not diversify their crops. The necessary resources and economic environment are not yet in place to allow contract farming to take full advantage of its potential benefits. To prevent the wasting of scarce public resources, expanding contract farming would not be appropriate in marginal areas with markets and other infrastructure. Additional measures are needed for contract farming to be profitable for contracting actors and to ensure sustainability and the large-scale participation of farmers.

Does contract farming improve smallholder income? The case of avocado farmers in Kenya

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mercy Maiwa Mwambi ◽  
Judith Oduol ◽  
Patience Mshenga ◽  
Mwanarusi Saidi
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Contract Farming ◽  
Variable Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Market Opportunities ◽  
Household Farm

Purpose – Contract farming (CF) is seen as a tool for creating new market opportunities hence increasing incomes for smallholder farmers. Critics, however, argue that CF is likely to pass risks to small scale farmers, thus favouring large scale farmers at the expense of smallholder farmers. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of CF on smallholder farmers’ income using a case study of avocado farmers in Kandara district in Kenya. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses data collected from 100 smallholder avocado farmers in Kandara district in Kenya and employs an instrumental variable model (Probit-2SLS) to control for endogeneity in participation in the contract and examine the effect of CF on household, farm and avocado income. Findings – The results indicate that participation in CF is not sufficient to improve household, farm and avocado income. Question remains regarding efficient implementation of CF arrangements to promote spill over effects on other household enterprises. Research limitations/implications – The research was carried out using farmers in Kandara district in Kenya as a case study, findings might therefore not reflect the status of CF in all countries. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the growing debate on the effect of value chain upgrading strategies such as contracting on smallholder farmers’ welfare. The form of contracting studied in this paper differs from the standard contracts in that the key stakeholders (producers) are loosely enjoined in the contract through officials of their groups.

scholarly journals Buffer Stock Operations and Well-Being: The Case of Smallholder Farmers in Ghana

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Abokyi ◽  
Dirk Strijker ◽  
Kofi Fred Asiedu ◽  
Michiel N. Daams
Keyword(s):  
Stock Price ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Buffer Stock ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Stabilization Policy ◽  
Environmental Aspects ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Aid Policy

AbstractThis study investigates the possible causal relationship between buffer stock operations in Ghanaian agriculture and the well-being of smallholder farmers in a developing world setting. We analyze the differences in the objective and subjective well-being of smallholder farmers who do or do not participate in a buffer stock price stabilization policy initiative, using self-reported assessments of 507 farmers. We adopt a two-stage least square instrumental variable estimation to account for possible endogeneity. Our results provide evidence that participation in buffer stock operations improves the objective and subjective well-being of smallholder farmers by 20% and 15%, respectively. Also, with estimated coefficient of 1.033, we find a significant and robust relationship between objective well-being and subjective well-being among smallholder farmers. This relationship implies that improving objective well-being enhances the subjective well-being of the farmers. We also find that the activities of intermediaries decrease both the objective and subjective well-being of farmers. This study demonstrates that economic, social, and environmental aspects of agricultural life could constitute priorities for public policy in improving well-being, given their strong correlation with the well-being of farmers. Based on the results of this study, we provide a better understanding, which may aid policy-makers, that public buffer stockholding operations policy is a viable tool for improving the well-being of smallholder farmers in a developing country.

scholarly journals Precision Agriculture for Resource Use Efficiency in Smallholder Farming Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1158
Author(s):  
Cecilia M. Onyango ◽  
Justine M. Nyaga ◽  
Johanna Wetterlind ◽  
Mats Söderström ◽  
Kristin Piikki
Keyword(s):  
Resource Use ◽  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
English Language ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Sub Saharan

Opportunities exist for adoption of precision agriculture technologies in all parts of the world. The form of precision agriculture may vary from region to region depending on technologies available, knowledge levels and mindsets. The current review examined research articles in the English language on precision agriculture practices for increased productivity among smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. A total of 7715 articles were retrieved and after screening 128 were reviewed. The results indicate that a number of precision agriculture technologies have been tested under SSA conditions and show promising results. The most promising precision agriculture technologies identified were the use of soil and plant sensors for nutrient and water management, as well as use of satellite imagery, GIS and crop-soil simulation models for site-specific management. These technologies have been shown to be crucial in attainment of appropriate management strategies in terms of efficiency and effectiveness of resource use in SSA. These technologies are important in supporting sustainable agricultural development. Most of these technologies are, however, at the experimental stage, with only South Africa having applied them mainly in large-scale commercial farms. It is concluded that increased precision in input and management practices among SSA smallholder farmers can significantly improve productivity even without extra use of inputs.

scholarly journals Sustainability of centralized contract farming among tobacco smallholder farmers in Makoni North District, Zimbabwe

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1921324
Author(s):  
Bernard Chazovachii ◽  
Cashave Mawere ◽  
Leonard Chitongo
Keyword(s):  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Contract Farming

scholarly journals The Role of Risk Preferences in Responses to Messaging About COVID-19 Vaccine Take-Up

2021 ◽  
pp. 194855062199962
Author(s):  
Jennifer S. Trueblood ◽  
Abigail B. Sussman ◽  
Daniel O’Leary
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Risk Preferences ◽  
Herd Immunity ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Flu Vaccine ◽  
Nationally Representative

Development of an effective COVID-19 vaccine is widely considered as one of the best paths to ending the current health crisis. While the ability to distribute a vaccine in the short-term remains uncertain, the availability of a vaccine alone will not be sufficient to stop disease spread. Instead, policy makers will need to overcome the additional hurdle of rapid widespread adoption. In a large-scale nationally representative survey ( N = 34,200), the current work identifies monetary risk preferences as a correlate of take-up of an anticipated COVID-19 vaccine. A complementary experiment ( N = 1,003) leverages this insight to create effective messaging encouraging vaccine take-up. Individual differences in risk preferences moderate responses to messaging that provides benchmarks for vaccine efficacy (by comparing it to the flu vaccine), while messaging that describes pro-social benefits of vaccination (specifically herd immunity) speeds vaccine take-up irrespective of risk preferences. Findings suggest that policy makers should consider risk preferences when targeting vaccine-related communications.

scholarly journals Agricultural Technical Efficiency of Smallholder Farmers in Ethiopia: A Stochastic Frontier Approach

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 246
Author(s):  
Markose Chekol Zewdie ◽  
Michele Moretti ◽  
Daregot Berihun Tenessa ◽  
Zemen Ayalew Ayele ◽  
Jan Nyssen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Stochastic Frontier ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Stochastic Frontier Approach ◽  
Small Scale Irrigation

In the past decade, to improve crop production and productivity, Ethiopia has embarked on an ambitious irrigation farming expansion program and has introduced new large- and small-scale irrigation initiatives. However, in Ethiopia, poverty remains a challenge, and crop productivity per unit area of land is very low. Literature on the technical efficiency (TE) of large-scale and small-scale irrigation user farmers as compared to the non-user farmers in Ethiopia is also limited. Investigating smallholder farmers’ TE level and its principal determinants is very important to increase crop production and productivity and to improve smallholder farmers’ livelihood and food security. Using 1026 household-level cross-section data, this study adopts a technology flexible stochastic frontier approach to examine agricultural TE of large-scale irrigation users, small-scale irrigation users and non-user farmers in Ethiopia. The results indicate that, due to poor extension services and old-style agronomic practices, the mean TE of farmers is very low (44.33%), implying that there is a wider room for increasing crop production in the study areas through increasing the TE of smallholder farmers without additional investment in novel agricultural technologies. Results also show that large-scale irrigation user farmers (21.05%) are less technically efficient than small-scale irrigation user farmers (60.29%). However, improving irrigation infrastructure shifts the frontier up and has a positive impact on smallholder farmers’ output.

scholarly journals Using Participatory Approaches to Enhance Women’s Engagement in Natural Resource Management in Northern Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7072
Author(s):  
Peter Cronkleton ◽  
Kristen Evans ◽  
Thomas Addoah ◽  
Emilie Smith Dumont ◽  
Mathurin Zida ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Change Initiatives ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Over Exploitation ◽  
Multi Stakeholder ◽  
Multi Phase

From 2016–2019, the West African Forest-Farm Interface (WAFFI) project engaged with smallholder farmers in northern Ghana to explore mechanisms to improve the influence of under-represented peoples, particularly women, in decision-making processes and platforms that affect their access to natural resources. Through a multi-phase process of participatory activities, including auto-appraisal, participatory action research (PAR) and facilitated knowledge exchange, villagers and researchers worked together to document and develop a better understanding of the challenges and changes facing women and men in the region to generate social learning. Among these challenges, the degradation of forest resources due to over exploitation, weak governance and conflict of use over shea trees (Vitellaria paradoxa) were particularly important for women. The WAFFI approach created a scaffold for social learning that strengthened the capacity of local stakeholders to share their perspectives and opinions more effectively in multi-stakeholder forums and dialogue related to resource use and land use change initiatives.

scholarly journals Within-Season Changes in Land-Use Impact Pest Abundance in Smallholder African Cassava Production Systems

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Kalyebi ◽  
Sarina Macfadyen ◽  
Andrew Hulthen ◽  
Patrick Ocitti ◽  
Frances Jacomb ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Bemisia Tabaci ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Manihot Esculenta Crantz

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), an important commercial and food security crop in East and Central Africa, continues to be adversely affected by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci. In Uganda, changes in smallholder farming landscapes due to crop rotations can impact pest populations but how these changes affect pest outbreak risk is unknown. We investigated how seasonal changes in land-use have affected B. tabaci population dynamics and its parasitoids. We used a large-scale field experiment to standardize the focal field in terms of cassava age and cultivar, then measured how Bemisia populations responded to surrounding land-use change. Bemisia tabaci Sub-Saharan Africa 1 (SSA1) was identified using molecular diagnostics as the most prevalent species and the same species was also found on surrounding soybean, groundnut, and sesame crops. We found that an increase in the area of cassava in the 3–7-month age range in the landscape resulted in an increase in the abundance of the B. tabaci SSA1 on cassava. There was a negative relationship between the extent of non-crop vegetation in the landscape and parasitism of nymphs suggesting that these parasitoids do not rely on resources in the non-crop patches. The highest abundance of B. tabaci SSA1 nymphs in cassava fields occurred at times when landscapes had large areas of weeds, low to moderate areas of maize, and low areas of banana. Our results can guide the development of land-use strategies that smallholder farmers can employ to manage these pests.

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