Under normal circumstance, farmers should benefit most from their produce but often middleman do. This is because the middleman often misrepresentation the true cost of the produce to the farmers and in this confusion farmer’s end up being cheated because of this information gap (middlemen often under price the produce and take a bigger share of farmers incomes). In this research, we have designed, implemented and tested a mobile and web-based system that will aid farmers by timely checking...
ABSTRACT The critical role of agriculture to the Ghanaian economy cannot be over emphasized. It has thus been the objective of governments to improve and develop the productive capacity of agriculture. Agricultural extension has been responsible for supporting farmers to raise their production capacity. Over the last two decades the effectiveness of agricultural extension to achieve its goal has been called to question. The significance of local innovation potential for sustainable developme...
Abstract: Mango production is a major form of income generation for Kenyan large and small-scale farmers. However, it is confronted with the major threat of fruit fly infestation which causes reduction of quality and quantity of marketable fruit resulting to considerable produce losses. New and cheaper methods to reduce fruit fly infestation levels in mango production have been developed, but farmers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for them is not known. First, this study was conducted in Embu d...
ABSTRACT This study assesses the effect of income diversification of rice farmers on household food security in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region of Ghana. By income diversification, the study implies the different combination of activities that rice farmers indulge in to earn income. Information on personal as well as household characteristics was obtained from 204 rice farmers in the North Tongu District by the use of semi-structured questionnaires. Depending on their income port...
ABSTRACT Perceptions guides decision making and eventually determines the actions to be made by farmers on climate change adaptation. This study analyzed how farmers perceive cassava as climate change crop, determinants of farmer’s perception and also estimated the share of cassava to total household income in Kigoma Region. A multistage random sampling procedure was used to select a total of 140 household heads for analysis. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and key inform...
ABSTRACT This study was conducted with the aim of assessing factors that influence SEDA agricultural credit rationing to smallholder farmers in Dodoma Municipality and Bahi District. Purposive and random sampling techniques were employed in selecting 200 smallholder farmers. Binary logistic and linear regressions models were used to analyse the influence of farmer’s socio-economic characteristics on credit demand and factors influencing SEDA agricultural credit rationing respectively. Descr...
ABSTRACT This study was conducted with the aim of assessing factors that influence SEDA agricultural credit rationing to smallholder farmers in Dodoma Municipality and Bahi District. Purposive and random sampling techniques were employed in selecting 200 smallholder farmers. Binary logistic and linear regressions models were used to analyse the influence of farmer’s socio-economic characteristics on credit demand and factors influencing SEDA agricultural credit rationing respectively. Desc...
ABSTRACT Prices of sweet potato had drastically dropped due to its glut in the market during harvesting season. This lead to stumpy margin revenues to famers as compared to production costs. Hence solution to help farmers earn more is to add value to the produce in Tanzania. The objective of the study was to investigate and create awareness on the sweet potato processed products marketing potential in the smallholder production system. Specifically the study sought (i) to characterize and des...
ABSTRACT This study identified the types of soil ameliorant that exist in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. It also determined farmer's willingness to pay for composted urban waste as well as the amounts they were willing to pay for a 50kg bag of compost should it result in a 25% and 50% increments in output, respectively. The study further investigated the socio-economic factors that affect farmer's willingness to pay for compost. The results obtained further revealed that different types o...
Abstract: Besides soil replenishment through manure application , the zero grazing production system also contributes towards smallholders' standards of living and poverty reduction. Its benefits are many and substantial; in western Kenya, the livestock farmers have adopted it. However, factors influencing its adoption are not known. It is also not certain whether the livestock farmers who practice zero grazing are knowledgeable of the cattle reproductive parameters or not which is key to ze...
Abstract Cocoa remains Ghana’s most important crop, providing a means of livelihood to about two million people. As a result of the liberalization of the sector, there have been several providers of services to farmers particularly agricultural information. In agriculture, the role of information in enhancing the agricultural development cannot be over emphasized. Information is essential for increasing agricultural production and improving marketing & distribution strategies. Concerns sti...
ABSTRACT Recent research emphasizes adopting business models that not only improve market linkages but also enable inclusion of smallholder farmers in high value markets along the value chains. While evidence points to positive impact of business models choice, studies seldom exploit the extent of their impact on smallholder gross income. Besides, socioeconomic and institutional factors associated with such choice of the models are discussed incoherently, hence less understood. The objectives...
ABSTRACT This study was conducted to determine high-value market opportunities for smallholder vegetable farmers in Arusha Region. To do so, the study provides a micro-level survey. The survey was conducted on smallholder vegetable farmers and high-value markets in Arusha Region. The specific objectives were identifying the characteristics of smallholder vegetable farmers in Arusha Region; determining factors that influence smallholder vegetable farmers participation in high-value market opp...
ABSTRACT Perceptions guides decision making and eventually determines the actions to be made by farmers on climate change adaptation. This study analyzed how farmers perceive cassava as climate change crop, determinants of farmer’s perception and also estimated the share of cassava to total household income in Kigoma Region. A multistage random sampling procedure was used to select a total of 140 household heads for analysis. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and key infor...
In order to revamp agricultural production in Zambia, Government in 2002 introduced the. Farmer Input Support Programme whose aim was to improve small scale farmers’ access to maize based agricultural inputs. However, in 2015/16 season, the Ministry of Agriculture moved away from the conventional FISP and introduced an Electronic Voucher system which broadened the target inputs farmers were allowed to purchase beyond maize inputs only. The overall objective of this study was to assess ...