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This study employs a stated choice experiment survey to identify producer preferences for contracts to produce Giant Miscanthus. Preliminary results indicate that price offered per ton of harvested Miscanthus, yield insurance availability, and biorefinery harvest have significant positive effects on the probability of a producer accepting a contract to produce Giant Miscahthus. The results show that risk-neutral farmers as more willing to accept contracts relative to risk-loving farmers, ceteris paribus. Farmers who perceive yield risk of Miscathus to be greater than their current crop are less likely to accept Giant Miscanthus contracts.

This study employed a stated choice experiment survey to identify southeastern U.S. farmers' preferences for contracts to produce Giant Miscanthus. We developed a more theoretically consistent framework which takes into account risk preference and perception information and also accounts for heterogeneous status-quo alternatives. Results from our Random Parameter Logit model indicated that price per ton of harvested Giant Miscanthus, biorefinery harvest, and establishment cost-share all had significant positive effects on the probability of a producer accepting a contract to produce Giant Miscanthus, whereas contract length had a significant negative effect. Our analysis also found evidence of significant preference heterogeneity in producers' preferences for biorefinery harvest, yield insurance, and contract length. We also found that incorporating risk perception and risk preference information, as well as accounting for heterogeneous status-quo alternatives in the decision framework improved overall model performance even though the respective individual coefficients for these variables were not statistically significant. ii DEDICATION I dedicate this research to my parents, Mr. Kwaku Frimpong Brenyah and Mrs.

Population increase in Thiririka sub-catchment is causing high demand of water against limited supply. Currently, only 12,000 households out of 250,000 in the catchment have access to pipe water. Groundwater offers the one of the available options to the limited and irregular supply of pipe water. This study aims to find out the extent to which groundwater as alternative source of water for both domestic and irrigation activities is explored in the Thiririka sub-catchment. To achieve this objective, a field survey was conducted using semi-structured questionnaire to seek the extent to which individuals and households use groundwater. The study indicated a very low and adopted use of groundwater in the catchment. Only 36.7% of the various households visited use groundwater for domestic activities and 13.30% for irrigation purposes. It was found out that residents perception on groundwater to be polluted and therefore not safe for domestic activities, lack of cash availability for individuals who wish to construct wells at their homes and lack of awareness and education on the benefits of groundwater are some of the challenges contributing to the low use of groundwater in the Thiririka sub-catchment. It was therefore, recommended that education on the benefits of groundwater by the Gatundu South Water Services and Sanitation office and other NGOs be intensified to the residents of Thiririka subcatchment and more community boreholes and wells should be provided to the communities by the government, churches and NGOs, beside the pipe connections.

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