PurposeThis study examines the drivers of marketing channel participation amongst smallholder rice farmers in the northern region of Ghana.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of 397 smallholder rice farmers drawn from a multistage sampling procedure, the study employed multivariate probit (MVP) model in the empirical estimations. In this context, the model assumes that a rice farmer should at least participate in one market channel.FindingsThe study reveals that the wholesaler market channel is the most commonly used channel among farmers, followed by the aggregator channel. However, the processor market channel is the least patronized one in the study area. The results also show statistically significant correlation coefficients in four out of the six possible combinations, implying that market channel participation among smallholder farmers is not mutually exclusive. Rice market channel participation is positively and significantly influenced by age, gender, household headship, access to credit, extension service, irrigation, improved seed and access to price information.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited in extending the analysis to include the impact of market channels on some outcome measures. This is due to data limitation.Originality/valueThe findings of this study add to the growing literature on smallholder market channel participation in Ghana.