Agricultural land use efficiency and food crop production in Ghana

Abstract

Despite the low productivity of the extensive agriculture system, Ghana recorded the largest reduction of undernourishment in the past two decades. We used biophysical analysis to determine the efficiency and potentials of the extensive system and its future sustainability. The results indicate that food production in Ghana has increased steadily over the past two decades and correlated highly with cropped area and population (R 2 \ 0.85 and 0.82), but not with fertilizer (R 2 = 0.06). Sufficient food production could be sustained in the short term. In the longer term, however, the food situation in Ghana appears precarious if population growth continues while land remains the same.

Wheat Response to No-Tillage and Nitrogen Fertilization in a Long-Term Faba Bean-Based Rotation

“…Further, in this study, the tillage system was the key factor influencing productive parameters in individual years and over the three years as a whole. Our findings are in agreement with Quaye et al [41] and Santín-Montanyá et al [45] In our study, the good rainfall distribution during wheat development stages in 2011-2012 led to good water availability for the plant, especially from April to May. The water availability in this On average, N content was higher in CT and lower in NT, with a positive correlation to the N fertilizer rate and was higher (p < 0.05) in the first soil layer (0-30 cm) compared to the deep layers ( Figure 2).…”

“…The land use efficiency (LUE) index was calculated to evaluate the performance of different management systems in terms of yield production as a function of the area cultivated. The LUE was determined according to Quaye et al [41]. For each growing season, rainfall use efficiency (RUE) was calculated to assess the capacity of the seasonal rainfall amount to produce adequate yield under different soil management systems, according to Gwenzi et al [42] as follows:…”

Land-based Investments for Rural Development? A Grounded Analysis of the Local Impacts of Biofuel Feedstock Plantations in Ghana

“…Public and private underinvestment, poor market linkages, and barriers to adoption of modern inputs are considered to be key factors underlying Ghana's poor agricultural productivity (Seini 2002, Benin et al 2009, Wolter 2009). Increases in production are, therefore, typically associated with an expansion in the area under cultivation rather than gains in land use efficiency (Quaye et al 2010). …”

Land Use Efficiency and Total Factor Productivity—Distribution Dynamic Evolution of Rural Living Space in Chongqing, China

“…In comparison with the documentation on urban system research, theoretical and practical research on rural land use efficiency is relatively weak because rural systems and the problems related with the subsystems have not yet been addressed in depth by scholars. Scholars such as Wang et al a national survey to analyze the institutional setups for rural residential land use, to assess the effectiveness of the existing regulations, and to evaluate the efficiencies in rural residential land use [10]; Shen et al built a rural land utilization efficiency evaluation model through data envelopment analysis [11]; and a biophysical analysis was used by Quaye et al to determine the efficiency and potentials of the extensive system and its future sustainability in Ghana [12]. Luo et al discussed the differences in peasants' land awareness from three aspects, land value consciousness, property right awareness, and dependent awareness, to further evaluate different types of peasant land utilization efficiency through DEA [13].…”