Department of Food Economics and Food Policy

Aims: To provide empirical evidence on the determinants of access to extension services in Northern Ghana. Study Design: Cross sectional. Place and Duration of Study: Kumbungu and Sagnarigu Districts of the Northern region; Builsa North and Pusiga Districts of the Upper East; Wa West and Jirapa-Lambussie Districts of the Upper West and Tain and Nkoranza South Districts of the Brong Ahafo regions. The study was conducted in thew 2012/2013 cropping season. Methodology: We employ a logistic regression model on a data from 320 women which was obtained by multi-stage sampling procedure. Results: Our results show that the major determinants of extension access include the square of 2 age, farm size, group membership, time spent on the farm and access to fertilizer. Conclusion: Our results thus, confirmed the importance of the personal and household attributes, farm/plot characteristics, socioeconomic and institutional factors in accessing extension services. We therefore call for formation of women's groups to improve their access to extension services.

This study analyzed technical efficiency of smallholder cotton farmers in three selected districts of the Northern Region using stochastic frontier production function approach. Multi-stage sampling procedure was employed to select 150 smallholder cotton farmers in the 2009 growing season. Maximum likelihood estimation procedure was used to obtain the determinants of technical efficiency and technical efficiency levels of cotton farmers. The results show that the technical efficiency of smallholder cotton farmers in the area ranges between 16.05% and 98.13% with mean efficiency score of 84.5% suggesting that average smallholder cotton farmer in the Northern Region would have produced 15.05% more output with the same level of inputs if the farmers were to produce on the most technically efficient frontier. The main determinants of technical efficiency include age, association membership, education, family size, age of farm, extension visits and cotton farmer's experience. Policies that would make the youth return to take up cotton farming would yield positive dividends. Cotton companies should periodically organize training workshops for cotton farmer associations on organizational capacity building in the area of group formation and development to enable them become dynamic and cohesive which will ultimately change their attitude towards operating within their respective farmer associations.

This study examined the financial efficiency and constraints faced by smallholder cotton farmers in some selected districts in the Northern Region of Ghana. Multistage sampling approach was employed to solicit cross-sectional data from 150 smallholder cotton farmers in three selected districts and six communities spread across the region using a structured questionnaire. The data was collected during the 2009 cotton growing season. Financial efficiency measures were estimated to reveal the financial efficiency levels of cotton farmers. These measures include Asset Turnover Ratio, Operating Expense Ratio, Depreciation Expense Ratio, and Net Farm Income Ratio. These were estimated and compared with benchmarks and valid conclusions drawn. Constraints faced by smallholder cotton farmers were also identified and analyzed using Kendal's Concordance analysis and agreement among the rankings of constraints by cotton farmers tested. The results show inconclusive financial efficiency levels of smallholder cotton farmers. Comparing financial efficiency ratios to the bench mark figures, Asset Turnover Ratio (20.28%), Operating Expense Ratio (74.1%) and Net Farm Income Ratio (19.14%) show that smallholder cotton farmers in the Northern Region are financially inefficient but efficient in terms of Depreciation Expense Original Research Article Abdul-Rahaman; BJEMT, 12(4): 1-11, 2016; Article no.BJEMT.24728 2 Ratio (3.29%). Several constraints were also identified as hindering the successful cotton production in the Northern Region. Poor pricing of seed cotton appeared as the most limiting constraints followed by untimely supply of farm inputs whilst lack of access to land was ranked as the least constraint. Kendal's Concordance analysis revealed that there was about 87.4% agreement among the rankings of the constraints. The government, NGOs in the cotton sector, private cotton companies and other cotton stakeholders should step up their efforts in building capacities of smallholder cotton farmers in both technical and financial management to enable them handle efficiently the cotton production business. Management of cotton companies as well as government should regularly meet with smallholder cotton farmer associations in the Northern Region to negotiate fair prices for seed cotton. This will inevitably entice the farmers to remain in the cotton production business for improved livelihoods. There is the need for the formation of cotton stakeholder committees with the mandate of carrying out monitoring on timeliness of input supply by cotton companies to cotton farmers.

The purpose of this study is to examine the technical efficiency of Ghanaian maize farmers from the parametric perspective. In this study, the stochastic frontier approach (SFA) assumed the Cobb-Douglas functional form and technical efficiency of Ghanaian maize farmers is then estimated using first phase data from the database of sub-Saharan Africa's intensification of food crops agriculture (Afrint I). Using household characteristics, human capital, farmer's resource situation, social capital and experience variables, the study found that farmers are producing below the frontier with average technical efficiency of 53 percent. Policy variables such as credit access; education and extension access and farm size played a stronger role in technical efficiency levels.

Despite the fact that contracting facilitates farmer participation in agrifood value chains, evidence on farmers' participation in different forms of contracts and the impact on farm performance is still limited. This study examines the determinants and impacts of vertical coordination mechanism-spot market transactions, written, and verbal contracton-farm performance of rice farmers in northern Ghana, using a multinomial BFG model to account for selectivity bias. The findings indicate that vertical coordination participation decision is significantly influenced by age, access to credit, labor, association membership, and sales to institutional buyers. The empirical results also reveal significant gains in farm performance outcomes from participating in written and verbal contracts, relative to spot market transactions.

Financial exclusion continues to be a major challenge to smallholder farmers' participation in agricultural value chains in developing countries. Digitizing procurements and other forms of transactions using mobile money technology among value chain actors is essential for ensuring financial inclusion and enhancing agricultural value chain transformation. This

Addressing issues of agricultural sustainability and vulnerability to poverty under climate change are major challenges to development in the 21st century. Accounting for the trade-off and synergies between off-farm work participation and sustainable land management on one hand, and vulnerability to poverty on the other hand, will therefore be useful to policy. In this study, we use recent farm household data from Ghana to examine the effect of off-farm work participation on intensity of adoption of sustainable land management (SLM) practices and impact of off-farm work participation on vulnerability to poverty. We employed a bivariate Tobit model to examine the determinants of SLM adoption intensity, and endogenous switching probit model to assess the impact of off-farm work participation on vulnerability to poverty. The results reveal that participation in off-farm is positively and significantly associated with adoption intensity of bunds, and organic manure. The results also show that off-farm work participation significantly reduces household vulnerability to poverty by 13%. Based on these findings, we conclude that rural development through non-farm work opportunities can lead to positive synergies between sustainable agricultural production, off-farm employment and poverty alleviation.

This paper examines the impact of rice value chain participation and social networks on smallholder farmers' market performance outcomes (paddy price, quantity of paddy traded, and net returns), using data from a recent survey of 458 smallholder rice farmers in northern Ghana. We employed a treatment

Contracting is widely perceived to facilitate farmer participation in high agrifood value chains. However, evidence on farmers' participation in different forms of contracts and their related implications on farm performance is still limited in empirical literature. This study examines the determinants and impacts of vertical coordination mechanisms-written contracts, verbal contracts and spot market transactions-on net farm incomes in the rice value chain of northern Ghana. We employ a multinomial BFG model to account for selectivity bias arising from observed and unobserved factors. The findings indicate that in output transactions, vertical coordination choice decisions are influenced by age, education, access to credit, paddy price, association membership and sales to institutional buyers. The empirical results also reveal significant net farm income gains from written contract and verbal contract participation, relative to spot market transactions, with the highest net farm income gains associated with the use of written contracts.

This study analyzed technical efficiency of smallholder cotton farmers in three selected districts of the Northern Region using stochastic frontier production function approach. Multi-stage sampling procedure was employed to select 150 smallholder cotton farmers in the 2009 growing season. Maximum likelihood estimation procedure was used to obtain the determinants of technical efficiency and technical efficiency levels of cotton farmers. The results show that the technical efficiency of smallholder cotton farmers in the area ranges between 16.05% and 98.13% with mean efficiency score of 84.5% suggesting that average smallholder cotton farmer in the Northern Region would have produced 15.05% more output with the same level of inputs if the farmers were to produce on the most technically efficient frontier. The main determinants of technical efficiency include age, association membership, education, family size, age of farm, extension visits and cotton farmer's experience. Policies that would make the youth return to take up cotton farming would yield positive dividends. Cotton companies should periodically organize training workshops for cotton farmer associations on organizational capacity building in the area of group formation and development to enable them become dynamic and cohesive which will ultimately change their attitude towards operating within their respective farmer associations.

This paper examines the impact of rice value chain participation and social networks on smallholder farmers' market performance outcomes (paddy price, quantity of paddy traded, and net returns), using data from a recent survey of 458 smallholder rice farmers in northern Ghana. We employed a treatment effects model to account for potential selection bias associated with observable and unobservable factors. The empirical results reveal that smallholder farmers' participation in a rice value chain is associated with increased paddy price, quantity traded, and net returns. We also find that value chain participation decisions and market performance are positively and significantly influenced by social networks. The empirical results also suggest that sex, farm size, mobile phone ownership, and access to credit significantly increase paddy prices, quantity traded, and net returns of smallholder rice farmers in the value chain. 1 | INTRODUCTION In the past 2-3 decades, agricultural value chains in developing countries have experienced dramatic structural transformation, driven by several factors such as population growth, rising urbanization, increasing consumer incomes, and varying consumer dietary requirements (

The study examines the role of coordination mechanisms on the production and market performance among smallholder farmers in Ghana. First, it examines the impact of vertical coordination mechanisms-written contracts, verbal contracts and spot market transactions – on farm performance, using multinomial BFG model to account for selectivity bias. Second, the study employs an endogenous switching regression model to examine the impact of farmer groups and collective marketing on farm net revenues of smallholder rice farmers. Third, the study examines the impact of farmer groups on farm yields and technical efficiency of farmers. Finally, it explores the role of inclusive value chains and social networks on smallholder market performance, using a treatment effects model to account for selection bias. The results reveal that vertical coordination mechanisms increase farm performance, with the highest gains stemming from written contract use. Also, farmers who are members of farmer groups...

Formalized marketing arrangements between smallholder farmers and produce buyers are gradually replacing spot market transactions in developing countries due to the rapid structural transformation of agrifood systems. This study examines the impact of agrifood system participation on the total value of vegetable production and technical efficiency (TE), using a sample of 423 vegetable farmers from Northern Ghana. We employ propensity score matching and W. Greene's selection bias-corrected stochastic production frontier methods to correct for observable and unobservable selection bias issues, respectively. We further use a metafrontier model to derive technology gap ratios (TGRs) and meta-TE for agrifood system participants and nonparticipants. The results reveal that agrifood system participants are about 50% more productive than nonparticipants. In addition, participants have higher meta-TE (58% vs. 55%) and TGR (98% vs. 94%) than nonparticipants. Variables such as farmer group membership, extension visits, mobile phone ownership, irrigation and road access are the notable correlates of smallholder farmers' participation in agrifood systems. The

This study examines farmers’ decisions to engage in subsistence home-gardening and its impact on food and nutrition security among farm households in Rwanda under diverse conditions. The study uses a nationally representative dataset from Rwanda from 2012, 2015, and 2018. We employ an endogenous switching regression model to jointly estimate the drivers of home-gardening participation decisions and food and nutrition security outcomes, whiles accounting for selection bias from observable and unobservable factors. We also estimate the treatment effects of home-gardening participation on dietary diversity, food consumption score, and anthropometric markers of women and children. The treatment effects are calculated at sample means and connected to market-related variables, such as land ownership, commercialization extent, and market distance. We find that having a home-garden is linked to improved dietary diversity and better nutritional outcomes. If households have restricted access ...