Browsing by Author "Adu, D.T."
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Item Application of livelihood vulnerability index in assessing smallholder maize farming households' vulnerability to climate change in Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana(Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 2017-07-17) Adu, D.T.; Kuwornu, J.K.M.; Anim-Somuah, H.; Sasaki, N.Climate change is adversely affecting smallholder farming households in Africa and in particular in Ghana because their activity depends on climate-regulated water resources. This study examined the vulnerability of smallholder maize farming households to climate change in the Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana by employing the Livelihood Vulnerability Index with particular emphasis on access to and utilization of water resources. The primary data were based on 150 maize farming households, complemented by secondary data on rainfall and temperature over the period 1983e2013. To assess the climate change effects and related vulnerability, a comparative analysis was performed for theWenchi and Techiman municipalities in the Brong-Ahafo region. The empirical results revealed that farming households in Wenchi municipality were more vulnerable to climate change and weather variability in terms of food, water, and health than those in Techiman municipality. Furthermore, farming households in Wenchi municipality were more vulnerable in terms of adaptive capacity, taking into account the socio-demographic aspects, social networks, and livelihoods of households in the municipality than those in Techiman municipality. These results have implications for the initiation and implementation of climate change adaptation and household resilience projects by the government, donor agencies, and other related organizations in the two municipalities in the region.Item A double-hurdle model estimation of cocoa farmers’ willingness to pay for crop insurance in Ghana(SpringerPlus, 2016-06) Okoffo, E.D.; Denkyirah, E.K.; Adu, D.T.; Fosu-Mensah, B.Y.Agriculture is an important sector in Ghana’s economy, however, with high risk due to natural factors like climate change, pests and diseases and bush fires among others. Farmers in the Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana which is known as one of the major cocoa producing regions, face these risks which sometimes results in crop failure. The need for farmers to therefore insure their farms against crop loss is crucial. Insurance has been a measure to guard against risk. The aim of this study was to assess cocoa farmers’ willingness to access crop insurance, the factors affecting willingness to pay (WTP) for crop insurance scheme and insurance companies’ willingness to provide crop insurance to cocoa farmers. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to sample 240 farmers from four communities in the Dormaa West District in Brong-Ahafo Region. The double-hurdle model shows that age, marital status and education significantly and positively influenced cocoa farmer’s willingness to insure their farms whiles household size and cropped area negatively influenced farmers’ willingness to insure their farms. Similarly, age, household size and cropped area significantly and positively influenced the premium cocoa farmers were willing to pay whiles marital status and cocoa income negatively influenced the premium farmers were willing to pay. The contingent valuation method shows that the maximum, minimum and average amounts cocoa farmers are willing to pay for crop insurance per production cost per acre was GH¢128.40, GH¢32.10 and GH¢49.32 respectively. Insurance companies do not have crop insurance policy but willing to provide crop insurance policy to cocoa farmers on a condition that farmers adopt modern cultivation practices to reduce the level of risk. The study recommends that cocoa farmers should be well educated on crop insurance and should be involved in planning the crop insurance scheme in order to conclude on the premium to be paid by them. © 2016, The Author(s).Item Economic growth and environmental pollution in West Africa: Testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis(Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 2017-12-12) Adu, D.T.; Denkyirah, E.K.Several studies suggest that increased economic activities result in poor environmental quality while others argue otherwise, due to the demand for improved environmental quality as a result of higher incomes. This paper empirically tested the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis by analyzing the relationship between economic growth and environmental pollution (carbon dioxide emission, CO2 and combustible renewable waste, CoWaste) using a panel dataset from 1970 to 2013 for selected West African countries with similar income status. This study is important in order to ascertain if economic growth really lead to a reduction in environmental pollution and at what income level would this be achieved. The results revealed that economic growth in the short-run significantly increases CO2 emissions and CoWaste but does not significantly decrease CO2 emission and CoWaste in the long-run. The non-significant relationship between economic growth and environmental pollution indicates the non-existence of EKC inWest Africa. The results of the study further revealed a very low turning point at which CO2 emission and CoWaste start to decrease; however, the non-existence of the EKC implies that the relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation in West African countries cannot be explained by an inverted U-shaped curve. The study recommends that West African economies should pursue efficiency improvement policy intervention to prevent environmental degradation.Item Foreign Aid – Real Exchange Rate Nexus: Empirical Evidence from Ghana(Cogent Economics and Finance, 2018-07) Adu, D.T.; Denkyirah, E.K.The contentious effect of foreign aid on real exchange rate in developing countries leading to Dutch disease necessitates further research since its impact can only be determined empirically. Using annual data gathered from the World Bank Development Index database with reference period of 1980 to 2016, we test the Dutch disease hypothesis by empirically examining the effect of foreign aid on real exchange rate in Ghana. Contrary to the findings of studies which establish non-existence of Dutch disease in Ghana, the empirical results of this study reveal otherwise, both in the short-run and long-run. To mitigate Dutch disease menace in Ghana, it is important that the country utilize its ideal productive capacity to cushion its aid-induced increased demand. © 2018, © 2018 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.Item Modeling Ghanaian cocoa farmers’ decision to use pesticide and frequency of application: the case of Brong Ahafo Region(SpringerPlus, 2016-12) Denkyirah, E.K.; Okoffo, E.D.; Adu, D.T.; Aziz, A.A.; Ofori, A.; Denkyirah, E.K.Pesticides are a significant component of the modern agricultural technology that has been widely adopted across the globe to control pests, diseases, weeds and other plant pathogens, in an effort to reduce or eliminate yield losses and maintain high product quality. Although pesticides are said to be toxic and exposes farmers to risk due to the hazardous effects of these chemicals, pesticide use among cocoa farmers in Ghana is still high. Furthermore, cocoa farmers do not apply pesticide on their cocoa farms at the recommended frequency of application. In view of this, the study assessed the factors influencing cocoa farmers’ decision to use pesticide and frequency of pesticide application. A total of 240 cocoa farmers from six cocoa growing communities in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana were selected for the study using the multi-stage sampling technique. The Probit and Tobit regression models were used to estimate factors influencing farmers’ decision to use pesticide and frequency of pesticide application, respectively. Results of the study revealed that the use of pesticide is still high among farmers in the Region and that cocoa farmers do not follow the Ghana Cocoa Board recommended frequency of pesticide application. In addition, cocoa farmers in the study area were found to be using both Ghana Cocoa Board approved/recommended and unapproved pesticides for cocoa production. Gender, age, educational level, years of farming experience, access to extension service, availability of agrochemical shop and access to credit significantly influenced farmers’ decision to use pesticides. Also, educational level, years of farming experience, membership of farmer based organisation, access to extension service, access to credit and cocoa income significantly influenced frequency of pesticide application. Since access to extension service is one key factor that reduces pesticide use and frequency of application among cocoa farmers, it is recommended that policies by government and non-governmental organisations should be aimed at mobilizing resources towards the expansion of extension education. In addition, extension service should target younger farmers as well as provide information on alternative pest control methods in order to reduce pesticide use among cocoa farmers. Furthermore, extension service/agents should target cocoa farmers with less years of farming experience and encourage cocoa farmers to join farmer based organisations in order to decrease frequency of pesticide application. © 2016, The Author(s).