ABSTRACT The demand for rice continues to outstrip supply in Ghana, making the country a net importer of the commodity. Low productivity due to poor technology dissemination and adoption by rice farmers is said to be the major reason for the supply deficit. The main objective of this study was therefore, to draw the link between agricultural technology transfer mechanisms, adoption and technical efficiency of rice farmers in northern Ghana. Specifically, the study assessed various agricultu...
ABSTRACT Kenyan dairy sub-sector has been undergoing many changes since the collapse of Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC) in 1992. There have been developments in establishment of milk cooling plants which are thought to reduce milk losses and benefit the smallholder dairy farmers besides bulking milk at one point for the processing firms. However, there is evidence of underutilization of the cooling plants and the reasons that inform farmers’ decision to use the cooling plants as milk ma...
Abstract: Climate change is causing the greatest environmental, social and economic threats across the globe. Its impact has been increasing especially on agricultural activities in developing countries. It depresses crop yields through temperature increase and reductions of precipitation. Climate change mainly affected low-income countries where their adaptive capacities are perceived to be low, due to weak institutional capacity, limited engagement in environmental and adaptation issues an...
Abstract In recent times, the concerns of the government of Ghana have been on the need to increase the share of locally processed cocoa by 50%. To this end, there has been efforts through campaign by Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to whip up interest amongst Ghanaians to cultivate the habit of cocoa consumption to sustain the sector which continues to export huge raw cocoa beans with minimal value addition. The concerns are whether or not cocoa consumption by farmers has the potential to contr...
In recent times, the concerns of the government of Ghana have been on the need to increase the share of locally processed cocoa by 50%. To this end, there has been efforts through campaign by Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to whip up interest amongst Ghanaians to cultivate the habit of cocoa consumption to sustain the sector which continues to export huge raw cocoa beans with minimal value addition. The concerns are whether or not cocoa consumption by farmers has the potential to contribute to t...
ABSTRACT Farmer irrigation practices have contributed to reduction of irrigable area from 14.6ha to 9.6 ha at Mutorahuku irrigation scheme due to water loss and shortages in the scheme. A study carried out at the scheme showed that farmer irrigation practices also contribute much to water loss and shortages. Infield canal tail end losses were measured with a collecting bucket and a stop watch. Using the t test results showed that there is a significant difference between the observed and expe...
ABSTRACT For a long period of time within different political systems cooperative societies have served as farmer organizations to give credit and to disseminate agricultural inputs in order to attain increased production and productivity of smallholders. However, dissemination of agricultural technologies were forcibly transferred using top-down approaches with minimum participation and giving less emphasis to the priority needs of the farmers. This study examines farmer perceptions on the e...
ABSTRACT This study analyses the performance of small-scale-tobacco producers under contract farming system and farmer characteristics that influences tobacco production in Songea district. The Specific objectives were: (i) To examine the cost and return of tobacco small-scale farmers under contract farming scheme in the study area; (ii) To assess the influence of contract farming characteristics on tobacco production; (iii) To examine the resource use efficiency in contract farming; (iv) T...
ABSTRACT Absence of a farmer learning programme on climate change mitigation and adaptation in Cross River states is responsible for farmers’ low or non-usage of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies with its attendant grievous impact on agricultural resources and production; farmers’ health, comfort and survival. To this end, this study was designed to develop a farmer learning programme for climate change mitigation and adaptation in Cross River State. Seven research que...
ABSTRACT This study assesses the contribution of Agricultural Marketing Co-operatives (AMCOS) in poverty reduction to cashew nut farmers. The study was conducted in the Mtwara region, in southern Tanzania. The two Divisions of Newala District namely Newala and Kitangari were purposefully selected followed by a random selection of seven wards. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect primary data from 200 farmers, and seven Agriculture Marketing Cooperative Societies. Secondary data ...
ABSTRACT Sugarcane and soybean are emerging value chains in Awendo Sub-County of Kenya with the potential for alleviating the perpetual problems of food and nutrition insecurity, poverty and unemployment among the rural households. Agricultural extension officers have educated farmers on the economic benefits of sugarcane-soybean integration but the uptake and performance of this cropping system has not been evaluated. This study therefore aimed at contributing to increase in farmer’s house...
EXTENDED ABSTRACT Studies on farmers’ interactions in agricultural projects have reported on the importance of the interaction of farmers with other actors on their participation in agricultural projects and subsequent adoption of agricultural technologies. However, there has been little interest on the influence of farmers’ interactions, alternative income-generating opportunities and biophysical conditions of the farmers’ geographical locations, on farmers’ participation in agricul...
ABSTRACT Reducing poverty, hunger and illiteracy among rural farmers is a major challenge facing governments, rural development experts and stakeholders. Over 70% of the poor live in rural areas and where 48% of these already live in extreme poverty and hunger. The poor concentrate in the rural communities where agriculture remains the major economic activity. It was the assumption of this study that the basic approach to reducing poverty and hunger among rural farmers is to teach rural farm...
ABSTRACT This work evaluates the effects of climate change on cowpea production among small-scale farmers in this regard Katagum Local Government Area of Bauchi state, Nigeria. The study had (4) research objectives and (4) research questions raised from the objectives. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select respondents from the study area using five (5) districts as sample size; Madara, Buskuri, Madangala, Azare, Bulkachuwa. The method used in the collection of the data was questio...
hrough the farms of the future (FotF) approach, the CCAFS climate analogue tool can be used to connect farmers to their possible future climates through farmer-to-farmer learning exchanges. In East Africa, this has already been piloted in Lushoto, Tanzania (Nelson et al. 2012), and recently implemented in Nyando, Kenya. The Farms of the Future approach focusses on two main objectives: First, to build on farmer-to-farmer exchanges to analogue sites as a valuable option to improve adaptive cap...