Changes in Ghanaian farming systems: stagnation or a quiet transformation?

Houssou, Nazaire; Johnson, Michael E.; Kolavalli, Shashidhara; Asante-Addo, Collins

doi:10.1007/s10460-017-9788-6

Cited by 24 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Also the government encourages input use. Similar findings for other regions in Ghana are found by Houssou et al [100]. According to Tripp and Ragassa [87] the highest concentrations of hybrid maize production is in the Upper West Region (19% as compared to between 3 and 5 percent in Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Northern, and Upper East Regions).…”

Section: Modern Farm Inputssupporting

confidence: 86%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Roaming through the Maze of Maize in Northern Ghana. A Systems Approach to Explore the Long-Term Effects of a Food Security Intervention

Mangnus

Westen

2018

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Central to food security interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa stands the value chain approach. The underlying idea is that connecting farmers to input and output markets and sources of knowledge and technology will enhance their food security status. In spite of positive impacts measured in especially food supply, there is scant evidence of the long-term effects on food security. For a better grasp of the impacts of a maize value chain intervention in North Ghana, we have experimented with an approach that focuses on interactions and feedback loops between the value chain and its local context. Such approach allowed us to identify dynamics that affect food security in the long run. In the case of Northern Ghana farming systems, household income and diets are increasingly dependent on maize, which increases risk of food insecurity in case of climate setbacks or market shocks. The exercise reveals how a linear value chain approach obscures the dynamic effects cascading from the intervention that may actually hamper food security in the long run. A systems approach may help to better grasp the consequences of external interventions at the local level.

show abstract

Section: Modern Farm Inputssupporting

confidence: 86%

“…(Interview) The increasing dependence on money for maintaining a livelihood has made people more individualistic, was the local clarification for this shift (confirmed by a study of [98]). Other studies [99,100] show how this shift is specifically disadvantageous to the poorer farmers that do not have the means to hire labor.…”

Section: Labourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roaming through the Maze of Maize in Northern Ghana. A Systems Approach to Explore the Long-Term Effects of a Food Security Intervention

Mangnus

Westen

2018

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Following Houssou et al [20], we can define agricultural intensification as the action that makes agricultural systems more productive. Furthermore, because fertilizer is fundamental to enhancing productivity and it is the most widely adopted input in general and specifically in Côte d'Ivoire [21,22], in this study, we focus mainly on fertilizer among many other inputs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Credit Influence Fertilizer Intensification in Rice Farming? Empirical Evidence from Côte D’Ivoire

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In Côte d’Ivoire, the use of fertilizers in rice farming still remains low. Credit constraints have been frequently reported as the main reason hampering rice farmers from reversing this situation. However, there is no empirical evidence on the link between rice farmers’ access to credit (AC) and fertilizer intensification (FI). This article examines this issue by using a sample of 600 rice farmers randomly selected in seven rice areas. Data are analyzed by the IV-Probit and IV-Tobit models. The results reveal that FI and AC reciprocally influence each other, implying that they are endogenous. An increase of credit by XOF 100 could increase the quantity of fertilizer used by 2.70 kg, all other things being equal. Moreover, FI and AC are strongly influenced by some socio-economic, rice farm, and institutional factors. Policymakers should take actions to facilitate rice farmers’ access to credit and subsidized fertilizers. Other relevant explanatory variables should be considered in rice farming development policies. By providing empirical evidence of the link between rice farmers’ access to credit and fertilizer intensification in Côte d’Ivoire, this paper contributes to the agricultural finance literature.

show abstract

“…However, there is a lot of debate about the effectiveness and efficiency of subsidy programmes. As shown in previous research (see Houssou et al 2017;Shee, et al 2020), their success depends on the design and implementation, mechanisms for selecting target farmers, political interference, and the role of the private sector, among other factors. This study will shed light on these dynamics in the case of NAIVS in Tanzania.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Agricultural input subsidy and farmers outcomes in Tanzania

Kinuthia¹

2020

WIDER Working Paper

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper examines the impact of the government input subsidy—the National Agriculture Input Voucher—on farmers’ production and welfare in Tanzania as well as the factors that influence agricultural production in the country. The analysis is based on the Living Standards Measurement Study-Integrated Surveys on Agriculture for 2008–13. The study uses panel fixed effects and difference-in-difference and propensity score matching methods to examine the two objectives. The results show that the input subsidy programme resulted in an initial increase in maize and rice production but not in the long run and only in a few regions. In addition, there was a decrease in total production in the southern region and the programme had little effect on farmers’ welfare. The results show that this programme only partly met the expected outcomes in Tanzania due to mistargeting, inaccurate identification of households, and poor implementation.

show abstract

Changes in Ghanaian farming systems: stagnation or a quiet transformation?

Cited by 24 publications

References 32 publications

Roaming through the Maze of Maize in Northern Ghana. A Systems Approach to Explore the Long-Term Effects of a Food Security Intervention

Roaming through the Maze of Maize in Northern Ghana. A Systems Approach to Explore the Long-Term Effects of a Food Security Intervention

Does Credit Influence Fertilizer Intensification in Rice Farming? Empirical Evidence from Côte D’Ivoire

Agricultural input subsidy and farmers outcomes in Tanzania

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About