Impact of Ghana's agricultural mechanization services center program

Benin, Samuel

doi:10.1111/agec.12201

Cited by 105 publications

(82 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The push might have had an initial impetus on mechanisation, as shown in a study by Benin (2015), who found that the AMSEC program contributed to improving the availability of mechanisation services. However, the evidence collected for this study shows that the well-known governance challenges inherent to such a mechanisation strategy are difficult to resolve -even for a country such as Ghana, which has respectable governance indicators (World Bank 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Diao et al (2012) and Benin (2015) found that distribution of government-imported tractors in Ghana was not transparent and encouraged rent-seeking behaviour. Tractor imports are politically more attractive than is investing in skill development because tractors show short-term effects and generate media attention, which is particularly valuable prior to elections (Birner and Resnick 2010).…”

Section: State Failurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tractor imports are politically more attractive than is investing in skill development because tractors show short-term effects and generate media attention, which is particularly valuable prior to elections (Birner and Resnick 2010). Benin (2015) also found that 82% of the AMSECs in Ghana were set up in districts aligned with the same party as the ruling government.…”

Section: State Failurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent studies have made important contributions to identify the current drivers of mechanisation in Africa (Diao et al 2014;Nin-Pratt and McBride 2014;Takeshima et al 2013) and to assessing the effect and profitability of different mechanisation strategies (Benin 2015;Houssou et al 2014a). However, there has been limited focus on the governance challenges of agricultural mechanisation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This country has three main farming systems: the South is dominated by cocoa and inter-cropping of maize, plantain and cassava; the Centre is based on maize, rice and yam farming; and the North is characterised by sole cropping of maize, groundnuts and yam (MoFA 2013). According to Benin (2015), 8% to 16% of farming area in Ghana is mechanised. Mechanisation is largely used for power-intensive operations such as ploughing, maize shelling and transportation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The neglected governance challenges of agricultural mechanisation in Africa – insights from Ghana

2017

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After decades of neglect, agricultural mechanisation is back on the development agenda in Africa. Taking the mechanisation efforts of Ghana as an example, this paper analyses the governance challenges involved in government and private sector efforts to promote mechanisation in smallholderbased farming systems. To identify these governance challenges, this paper develops a conceptual framework that combines the agricultural innovation system approach with the concepts of New Institutional Economics. Two qualitative empirical methods were used to apply the framework: the Net-Map technique, which is a participatory mapping tool, and expert / key informant interviews. The results show that next to well-known problems such as market failures concerning access to spare-parts supplies and credit, mechanisation is constrained by missing institutions, particularly those that would be required to ensure adequate skill development of tractor-operators and technicians. In addition, exchange rate fluctuations and impeding customs practices prevent stronger private sector involvement in mechanisation. Governance challenges such as political interest and elite capture were found to limit the effectiveness of government imports of tractors and machinery. The findings suggest that instead of focusing on the supply of subsidised machinery, the government could be more effective by investing in institutional development to strengthen the agricultural innovation system for mechanisation and to support emerging private sector initiatives.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: State Failurementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: State Failurementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The neglected governance challenges of agricultural mechanisation in Africa – insights from Ghana

2017

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Willingness to pay for agricultural mechanization services by smallholder farmers in Malawi

Tufa,

Alene,

Ngoma

et al. 2023

Agribusiness

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One of the main barriers to adopting smallholder agricultural mechanization in developing countries is the mismatch between the economies of scale of machines and farm size. Private sector‐led mechanization services hold a promise to address this challenge, but there is a lack of evidence on demand for smallholder mechanization services. This study estimates the farmers' willingness to pay for mechanization services using the double‐bounded contingent valuation method and data from 1512 households. Results show that, on average, farmers are willing to pay 11%, 33%, and 5% more than prevailing market rates for land preparation, maize shelling, and transportation services, respectively. The amounts farmers are willing to pay for the mechanization services vary by sex, age group, size of cultivated land, the value of farmer assets, market access, and agroecology. Men are willing to pay 26%, 25%, and 11% more than women for land preparation, maize shelling, and transportation services. Moreover, 40% of female and 90% of male farmers are willing to pay more than or equal to the prevailing market rate for land preparation services. The high demand for mechanization services among smallholder farmers points to the need for making the machinery available to rural communities through mechanization service providers or machinery hiring centers run by the private sector. The paper concludes by discussing the contextual factors and policy options for promoting smallholder mechanization in Malawi. [EconLit Citations: O33, Q11, Q13, Q16].

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Agricultural mechanization, environmental degradation, and gendered livelihood implications in northern Ghana

et al. 2020

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This paper draws theoretical insights from political ecology to examine the environmental and livelihood impacts of smallholder agricultural mechanization in Ghana in the context of the ongoing pursuit of a new Green Revolution for Africa. Our findings highlight the complex linkages between agricultural development, environmental degradation, and rural livelihoods. Despite the associated increased returns‐to‐scale in agricultural productivity and enhanced speed in land preparation with tractor‐based mechanization, the clearing of major trees on farmlands as a precondition for obtaining ploughing services encourages land degradation, including the depletion of vital naturally growing tree species—shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) and dawadawa (Parkia biglobosa)—that have critical food provisioning, cultural, and socioeconomic value. The drive towards extensification has further produced competitive forces that fuel the appropriation of previously inalienable communal lands and weakening of longstanding norms that mediate environmental resource conservation and use. This situation is poised to alter customary land governance and the basis on which women assert their rights to land‐based resources including shea and dawadawa. Marginalized women are progressively shifting their livelihood strategies into environmentally unsustainable subsistence activities. This study demonstrates the adverse ecological, socioeconomic, and political impacts of agricultural mechanization when implemented in agrarian societies marked by widespread poverty and pervasive gender inequities. Given the growing centrality of tractors and trees to rural livelihoods, we recommend conservation agriculture for the simultaneous promotion of sustainable agriculture and environmental conservation. Relevant social policies must also be implemented to ameliorate the adverse livelihood impacts of these agrarian reforms.

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Impact of Ghana's agricultural mechanization services center program

Abstract: Journal articleIFPRI3; ISI; CRP2DSGD; PIMPRCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM

Cited by 105 publications

References 14 publications

The neglected governance challenges of agricultural mechanisation in Africa – insights from Ghana

The neglected governance challenges of agricultural mechanisation in Africa – insights from Ghana

Willingness to pay for agricultural mechanization services by smallholder farmers in Malawi

Agricultural mechanization, environmental degradation, and gendered livelihood implications in northern Ghana

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