ABSTRACT Pineapple farmers in Ghana are not able to meet their potential yield. Organizations are making conscious efforts to help boost pineapple production by training farmers on topics such as input use and farm management. It is necessary to ascertain if some gaps in production still exist that need to be addressed. The study sought to identify the influence of inputs on pineapple production in conjunction with the production of other crops. It also estimated the technical efficiency s...
ABSTRACT Groundnut has been identified as the most important leguminous crop in Ghana both in terms of volume of production and export. Its production has faced numerous challenges over the past decades in Ghana as the productivity of groundnut continues to decline despite the abundant resources that support its growth. The question is, what then is responsible for the declining productivity levels of groundnut in Ghana? The study sought to estimate the productivity levels and technical ef...
ABSTRACT Opportunity International, a private financial institution has made efforts to support cocoa farmers in Ghana through the establishment of input credit scheme with the aim of enhancing access to inputs to improve productivity of farmers. The primary objective of the study is to determine whether access to inputs improves productivity of smallholder cocoa farmers in the stated districts of the Western Region of Ghana. Purposive sampling was used to select two districts from the regio...
ABSTRACT The study analyses the effects of intersectoral labour mobility between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors on deforestation in Ghana. It is based on annual time series data covering the period 1970—99. The study describes the basic determinants of intersectoral labour mobility and deforestation and estimates the magnitudes o f the effects of their determinants in Ghana. The empirical results show that the effects of intersectoral labour mobility between agricultural and non...
Abstract The study was an evaluation of microfinance bank lending to agriculture in Imo State, Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study were to (i) to analyse the institutional features of the microfinance banks in the study area (ii) analyses the socioeconomic characteristics of the loan beneficiaries, (iii) determine the amount of credit supplied by microfinance banks to farmers and their repayment performance, (iv) determine the factors influencing credit supply by microfinance banks...
ABSTRACT The study examined the efficiency of the legume market with respect to post - harvest handling and the structure, conduct and performance of the marketing process. The legume crops involved in the study are cowpea, groundnuts and bambara beans. Bambara beans was however studied only at the farm level because of its limited sale at the wholesale level. The techniques employed for primary data collection include Rapid Reconnaissance Survey, Participatory Rural Appraisal, Direct Observa...
ABSTRACT The rapid population growth and urbanization has brought about the challenge of organising food on asustainable basis with the use of inputs such asfertilizers. The present study was conducted to investigate the potential fertilizer value of poultry manure produced in the Accra-Tema metropolitan area.Structured questionnaires were used to interview 30commercial farms. Also, three farms were chosen for case studies. The results indicate that poultry manure contains high levels of...
Abstract The local Government Service Act 203 of L.I 1961, was passed in 2011 and as part of its implementation, extension services at the local level was ceded to the local government service and Departments of Agriculture became units under the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies. Given the importance of extension in agricultural development at the local level, this research aimed to assess the functionality and effectiveness of Departments of Agriculture under the Local Governm...
ABSTRACT The study analysed value addition in commercial catfish (Clarias gariepinus Heterobranchus spp) production in Rivers State. The specific objectives were to: examine the socioeconomic characteristics of catfish producers in the study area, determine the costs, returns and profit to the various actors in the value addition, determine other sources of income to the catfish producers in the area and identify the constraints faced by the catfish producers in the area. Data were collected...
ABSTRACT This study assessed the competitiveness of the High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF)Value Chain in Imo State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to; describe the socioeconomic characteristics of HQCF value chain players in the study area, examine the composition as well as functions of the stakeholders in the chain, identify and examine the effect of policies on the HQCF in the study area, assess the factors which influenced access to credit by stakeholders in the HQCF value chain , ...
ABSTRACT The broad objective of this study was to analyse sustainable agricultural resource use in Nigeria using the Ecological Footprint Approach. The specific objectives included to; estimate the global emergy and emergy density, determine the ecological footprint per capita, analyse the per capita bio-capacity, and ascertain the level of agricultural resource use, sustainability status and resource substitution in Nigeria. The total land area, population and thematic data of the country ...
ABSTRACT The study analyzed small-scale cassava-based farmers’ demand and utilization for microfinance banks credit in Imo State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to: examine the socio-economic characteristics of small-scale cassava-based farmers; determine the amount of credit demanded and obtained by small-scale cassava-based farmers; estimate the factors influencing the amount of credit demanded by small-scale cassava-based farmers; estimate the determinants on the amount of cred...
ABSTRACT This study aims to determine the differences in productivity and technical efficiency levels of maize producers in three ecological zones in Ghana. It also seeks to identify the sources of inefficiency and identify constraints faced by maize farmers within these ecological zones. The study used a cross section of 224 maize producers from the savannah, forest and transition zones in Ghana. This research adopts the Metafrontier and the stochastic frontier models to compute the technic...
ABSTRACT This study examined youth participation and productivity in cocoa farming in the Western North Cocoa Region of Ghana using primary data from 958 respondents through the field assistance of Solidaridad West Africa. Systematic and purposive sampling techniques were used to sample 588 youth (35years) from Sefwi Bekwai, Boako, Akontombra, Bodi and Asempaneye. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the distribution in the roles played by the youth in cocoa farming in the study area...
ABSTRACT The study analyzed the risk management strategies of cassava-based farmers in Imo State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study described the socioeconomic characteristics of the cassavabased farmers, identified their sources of risk, and their risk management strategies, determined the effect of their socioeconomic characteristics on the choice of risk strategies adopted, ascertained and compared their profits in relation to their risk management strategies, and identified the constraint...