Do NGOs and Development Agencies Contribute to Sustainability of Smallholder Soybean Farmers in Northern Ghana—A Stochastic Production Frontier Approach

Abstract

NGOs and development agencies have a conspicuous presence in facilitating capacity building, access to production resources and markets. Capacity building by NGOs and development agencies is expected to contribute to farm efficiency and sustainability by promoting and enhancing fertilizer use as well as increasing soil fertilities. However, the influence of these factors on technical efficiency as an important dimension of sustainability has not been further explored in Ghana. This study therefore assesses the influence of NGOs on technical efficiency among smallholder soybean farmers by applying stochastic frontier analysis. The data collected from 349 smallholder soybean producers in the three northern regions of Ghana are employed for the analysis. Results show that the mean technical efficiency of soybean production is 0.885, indicating a growth potential of 11.5%. Land area, agro-chemicals and seeds contribute to production growth while labor is over used. We find that NGO facilitation as well as group membership influences technical efficiency. Furthermore, farmers facilitated by NGOs and development agencies are 4.4 p.p. more efficient than non-facilitated farmers. Our study therefore implies that production and efficiency can be improved by providing more services to farmer group members and sustainable interventions from NGOs and social programs.

Performance of Smallholder Soybean Farmers in Ghana; Evidence from Upper West Region of Ghana

“…Smallholder farmers' experience of 4.43 years in soybean cultivation was found to be low. The finding is consistent with Dogbe et al, 2013;Rusike et al, 2016;Avea et al, 2016 who report that the cultivation of the soybean is new to Ghanaian farmers who may encounter production challenges. The study shows 88% of the respondents have access to extension services with an average visit of 22 per production circle.…”

“…Smallholder farmers were trained in modern agronomic practices and provided with high yielding varieties, fertilizers, inoculants, pesticides and insecticides. However, issues of soybean production efficiencies received little attention despite its strong correlation with higher crop productivity (Asante et al, 2013;Donkoh et al, 2013;Tambo & Gbemu, 2010;Avea et al, 2016). Consequently, the impact of the soybean initiatives has been sub-optimal with Upper West region the worst affected in Ghana.…”

“…Consequently, the impact of the soybean initiatives has been sub-optimal with Upper West region the worst affected in Ghana. Data show that the 194kgha -1 average yield of soybean recorded in Upper West region is the lowest in Ghana which is nearly 80% lower than the average yield of 348kgha -1 for neighbouring Northern region (Avea et al, 2016). To partly address this problem, a better understanding of the underlying factors that influence smallholder farmers' technical efficiency is essential to inform decision making that improves soybean productivity (Hasnain et al, 2015).…”

“…Conversely, the use of family labor (46 Man-daysha -1 ) was found to be high compared with hired labor (27 Man-daysha -1 ). However, Avea et al (2016) reports mean man-days of 38 employed per hectare of soybean farm in northern Ghana.…”

“…Meanwhile, local supply stands at 144,926MTs with a deficit of more than 150,000MT which is often augmented through importation from countries such as Brazil and China (MoFA, 2011). This supply gap presents an opportunity for poverty reduction and food security in Ghana if appropriate strategies are put in place to enhance domestic production (Dogbe et al, 2013;Mohammed et al, 2016;Etwire et al, 2013;Avea et al, 2016).…”