ABSTRACT Increase in agricultural production is essential for agricultural development since it enhances profitability and income which leads to welfare improvements. In Nigeria agricultural production and rural welfare have worsened over the years. Adequate information on the link between agricultural production and rural welfare in Nigeria is expected to better inform policy makers on implementation. Agricultural production and its impact on rural welfare in Nigeria were, therefore, investi...
INTRODUCTION The first section of this chapter states the objectives an4 the procedure adopted for the study and gives reasons for choosing the Ejura and Wenchi areas for the study and centering it around tobaccoo This is followed by brief discussions of the geography of the two areas and the characteristics of the tobacco farmers. Agriculture in the two areas is then discussed and some of the bottlenecks to increased agricultural production highlighted. The final sections of the chapter trac...
ABSTRACT Climate change and variability is one of the great challenges facing farming households in Ghana. The main objective of this study is to assess the vulnerability of smallholder maize farming households to climate variability in the Eastern region. Specifically, the study investigates the vulnerability of households to climate variability, the determinants of households’ livelihood vulnerability level, the adoption level of adaptation strategies to climate variability and the deter...
ABSTRACT This study compares the performance of two predominantly employed marine fishing technologies (purse seine and drift gill net) along the coastal stretch of central region in Ghana. Against this backdrop, productivity and technical efficiency differentials of the purse seine and drift gill net technologies is assessed. Factors delimitating fishers from achieving the maximum attainable output levels were also modeled to quantify their effect on inefficiency. A simple random sampling te...
ABSTRACT Around the developing world, poverty remains an overwhelming rural issue. Rural dwellers rely heavily on agricultural activities and related assets as main source of livelihoods. They also have widely differing capacities to combine off-farm activities in their income generation process. However, diversification makes households better-off only if it implies increased investment in high return portfolios. An important concern is that high yielding investments are either high risk or ...
ABSTRACT Understanding smallholder farmers’ behaviour in terms of adaptation to weather risks provides the means to design policies that will help farmers address weather risks and have an effective impact on farmers’ livelihoods. This study is undertaken with this perspective by analysing how smallholder farmers’ adaptive capacity affects their choice of adaptation strategies to weather risks. The research sought to, i) analyse farmers’ perceived vulnerability to weather risks, their...
ABSTRACT This study sought to find answers to the questions of whether the Food Crop Development Project improved farmers’ access to credit, changed farmers savings culture or whether small-scale maize farmers adopted the improved maize production practices. In addition, the study seeks to know whether or not there has been any significant difference in food security situation between participant and non-participant farmers. Descriptive-Correlation survey was conducted and using multistage ...
ABSTRACT Viral diseases are a worldwide problem of cucurbits and a major limiting factor for they production. A field survey was conducted through six agro-ecological zones of Côte d’Ivoire during the dry and rainy seasons in 2014 to assess disease prevalence and severity, identify associated viruses, and evaluate the effect of temperature and growing seasons on virus diseases. Viruses were detected on sampled leaves displaying virus-like symptoms using double antibody sandwich enzyme-link...
ABSTRACT Mango has been the major cash crop grown by farmers in the Yilo Krobo Municipality. The productivity of this crop has been persistently low despite various private and public sector interventions. Studies have suggested that one key factor of productivity growth is efficiency in resource and technology use. This study estimated the economic efficiency of mango production to determine the scope for additional increase in mango production. A multistage sampling technique was used to ra...
ABSTRACT Efforts to reduce rural inequality and poverty in Nigeria have no appreciable impact partly due to their supply-driven approach. In recent times emphasis is shifting to demand driven approach through Community Driven Development (CDD) projects with focus on bottom-up development. Fadama-II (2004 and 2009), one of the CDD projects invested mainly in agricultural assets to increase the income of the users. However, the impact of the project on Income Inequality (IE) and poverty has no...
ABSTRACT The prevalence of climatic events, such as drought and floods in northern Ghana has contributed significantly to food shortages in the area. This prompted the need for appropriate alternatives to enhance food production and improve rural livelihoods. The PAVE Irrigation Technology (PIT) is rainwater harvesting technology being promoted by Conservation Alliance (CA), International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC) and International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in Northern Ghan...
ABSTRACT The study set out to assess the fish consumption behavior of low-income households residing in urban areas of Greater Accra and Northern regions of Ghana. The study examined the factors influencing household preferences for fish products (fresh, processed fish or both) and also analyzed socio-economic and geographic factors affecting household income allocation decisions. The study employed the multinomial logit model to analyse the factors influencing household preferences for fish ...
ABSTRACT Mushroom farming is being promoted by governments, national and other international development organisations to reduce rural and urban poverty, creating employment and improving food security. The main objective of this study was to assess the adoption of oyster mushroom farming among beneficiaries of the PROMUSH Project implemented by the Adentan Municipal Assembly in 2015. Specifically, the study sought to, i) determine the knowledge level of PROMUSH trainees of oyster mushroom fa...
ABSTRACT Contract farming is emerging as a promising way to upgrade domestic rice quality in Togo. The Non-Government Organisation ‘Entreprise Territoir et Développement’ (ETD) has started promoting a kind of contract farming scheme called ’Entreprise de Service et Organisation de Producteurs’ (ESOP) in the country. The rewards from contract farming could be substantial for smallholder farmers; yet there is a serious concern about the farmers’ ability to stay in the partnership for...
ABSTRACT This study examines the extent to which farmers trained by the Food Research Institute have taken up mushroom farming and also determines the profitability of mushroom production. Specifically, the study describes trends in the levels of mushroom production since 1995, the rate of adoption and dis-adoption of mushroom farming by trainees, the profitability of mushroom cultivation and identifies constraints to mushroom farming from the perspective of farmers. Trend description involve...