Browsing by Author "Egyir, I."
Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Agricultural credit rationing in Ghana: What do formal lenders look for?(Agricultural Finance Review, 2014-08) Awunyo-Vitor, D.; Al-Hassan, R.M; Egyir, I.; Sarpong, D.BPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of agricultural credit rationing by formal lenders in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach – This study employed descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Heckman’s two-stage regression model to identify types of rationing faced by farmers and investigate factors that influence agricultural credit rationing by formal financial institutions. Data used in this study are gathered through a survey of 595 farmers in seven districts within Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. Findings – The result reveals that farmers face three types of rationing. Evidence from the Heckman two-stage models shows that engagement in off farm income generating activities, increase in farm size, positive balances on accounts and commercial orientation of the farmers has the potential to reduce rationing of credit applicants by formal lenders. Practical implications – The results provide information on the factors that need to be considered as important in an attempt to reduce agricultural credit rationing by formal lenders. Originality/value – The value of this study is that farmers would use the results of this study to improve access to required amount of agricultural credit from formal financial institutions. The information would also benefit stakeholders in the agricultural sector, particularly youth in agriculture program organized by Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Ghana as how to improve access to credit and reduce rationing of program participants by formal financial institutions. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.Item Does contract farming afect technical efciency? Evidence from soybean farmers in Northern Ghana(Agricultural and Food Economics, 2023) Selorm, A.; Sarpong, D. B. S.; Egyir, I.; Bonsu, A.M.; An, H.Understanding how and the extent to which contract farming arrangements impact agricultural productivity is important to ensuring that policies are designed to maxi mize the likelihood of success. Using cross-sectional data from 516 soybean farmers in Northern Ghana, we provide empirical evidence that contract farming increases soy bean productivity and technical efciency in Northern Ghana. We use propensity score matching to reduce bias from observables, and then estimate a stochastic production frontier model that addresses selection bias arising from unobservable variables. We find that the technical efficiency levels of contract farmers are 77 percent compared with 69 percent for non-contract farmers. We also find that access to credit, extension contact, and farmer group membership are key determinants of participating in contract farming.Item Gender- and youth-sensitive data collection tools to support decision making for inclusive sustainable agricultural intensification(Taylor & Francis Group, 2021) Grabowski, P.P.; Djenontin, I.; Zulu, L.; Kamoto, J.; Kampanje-Phiri, J.; Darkwah, A.; Egyir, I.; Fischer, G.To achieve equitable sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI), it is essential to understand differential access and control over agricultural resources by women and youth, and to assess how intensification interacts with gendered and age dependent relationships. Existing packages for assessing women’s empowerment in agriculture tend to be large-scale surveys that do not provide timely results, nor are they easily integrated into a gender-transformative process. This paper applies concepts from Kabeer on gender analysis and empowerment to evaluate promising tools available for assessing inequities in SAI and supporting a gender-transformative approach. We interviewed decision makers in Malawi and Ghana to understand their needs and practices for equityanalysis. We evaluated, adapted and tested tools to detect inequities from SAI. Our results demonstrate the suitability of tools to decision makers’ needs for ex-ante assessment and early detection of disparities. We synthesize information from the testing and adaptation of tools about the resources required, the equity issues they can reveal and their potential role in a gender-transformative approach. The use of the tools needs to be part of an inclusive and culturally specific process for identifying gaps and facilitating a more equitable sharing of SAI responsibilities and benefits through iterative cycles of action and learning.Item Preliminary assessment of shea butter waxing on the keeping and sensory qualities of four plantain (Musa aab) varieties(African Journal of Agricultural Research, 2010-01) Sugri, I.; Norman, J.C.; Egyir, I.; Johnson, P.N.T.Over the last few years, the production of plantain has been increasing due to the introduction of some high yielding varieties. Unfortunately, very high post-harvest losses are incurred annually due to lack of appropriate storage technologies. This study evaluated the effect of shea butter as a food-grade wax on the pre-climacteric life and sensory qualities of four plantain varieties (Apem, Apentu, Asamienu and Oniaba). Waxing was achieved by brushing shea butter on fruits surfaces. The fruit diameter before waxing (d1) and after waxing (d2) was measured and the difference (d2-d1) taken as the waxing thickness. Parameters assessed were the uniformity of ripening, gloss quality, incidence of off-flavours and disorders. Waxing thickness of 0.5 and 1 mm resulted in irregular ripening, green-soft disorder and off-flavours. However, thin layer waxing (<0.05mm) prolonged the pre-climacteric life to 22, 20, 17, and 15 days in Apem, Apentu, Oniaba and Asamienu respectively. A prolonged post-climacteric life from 4 to 6 days across varieties as well as firm texture at senescence was recorded. Shea butter waxing resulted in significant decrease (P<0.001) in physiological weight loss of 9.46% by 22 days after storage compared to control which had 21.25% by 10 days of storage. Principal component analysis of sensory attributes showed that mouth-feel, colour, flavour and tastes accounted for 36.67 % of data variation whist texture alone accounted for 21.1% of data variability. Due to increasing lobby against the use of post-harvest chemicals, as consumers now want products with high nutritional value rather than having just superior external qualities, the use of shea butter as a food-grade wax can be further explored since no safety or residual effect is foreseeable. © 2010 Academic Journals.Item Realizing Inclusive SAI: contextualizing indicators to better evaluate gender and intergenerational inequity in SAI processes and outcomes – cases from Southern and Western Africa(International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 2020-03-26) Darkwah, A.; Zulu, L.C.; Djenontin, I.N.S.; Kamoto, J.; Kampanje-Phiri, J.; Fischer, G.; Grabowski, P.; Egyir, I.Despite increasing sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) investments, indicators for detecting gender and intergenerational inequities in SAI costs and benefits sharing often remain overgeneralized, theoretical, or locally irrelevant. We examine the relative value of, and how to, customize standard SAI indicators to detect such inequities in specific socio-cultural contexts to enhance data collection for evidence-based decision making in fostering gender/youth inclusive SAI. Using focus-group discussions and key informant interviews among farmers and diverse government, NGO, private sector, and academic stakeholders in two districts in Malawi and three in Ghana, we assess the perceived roles, differentiated needs/ priorities of men, women and youth, and the sharing of SAI burdens and benefits within farming households. We investigate what context-appropriate questions to ask, to whom, and how, to collect reliable information on indicators of SAIinvestment inequities. Results illuminate context-specific, gendered and intergenerational factors shaping access to and ownership of productive resources, household decision making, SAI participation, and appropriateness of selected indicators. Combining farmers’ and local field-expert’ perspectives offers practical insights for customizing inequity indicators. Findings highlight advantages of local contextualization of SAI indicators, including insights on appropriate data-collection approaches that challenge orthodox survey/quantitative methods for detecting and assessing gender/age inequities to foster inclusive SAI.