Department of Agricultural Extension
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Item Ghana’s pineapple innovation history: An account from stakeholders in Nsawam Adoagyiri Municipal Assembly(African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 2021) Ankrah, D.A.Despite the pineapple fruit contributing significantly towards Ghana’s non-traditional export, the empirical space inadequately accounts for innovations within the sector. This article addresses prime questions that beg answering, such as as: the origin of innovations, when, how, what conditions facilitate adoption intensity or otherwise, what type of innovations are systematically associated with pineapple production. This study fills this lacuna by chronicling the main pineapple innovations using innovation history methodology embedded in an agricultural innovation system conceptual framing. Relying on a qualitative approach, the findings showed the emergence of two varieties: smooth cayenne and sugar loaf, overtaken by the MD2 variety. Degreening, forcing, and global Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) dominate. The Millennium Development Authority programme consolidated business plan development, efficient marketing, record-keeping, and farming as a business. Successes were recorded in some instances with the transfer of technology extension model, but this article argues that the agricultural innovation system can be prioritized given the plurality of actors. The history of innovation is trivialized, but it is essential for learning and co-learning in building stronger partnerships. This article underscores a radical use of innovation history both as a methodological tool and means of documenting innovations, particularly in the global south, where copious record-keeping remains rare.Item Assessment of Agricultural Advisory Messages from Farmer-to Farmer in Making a Case for Scaling Up Production: A Qualitative Study(The Qualitative Report, 2020) Kwapong, N.A.; Ankrah, D.A.; Boateng-Gyambiby, D.; Asenso-Agyemang, J.; Fening, L.O.Inadequate access to agricultural extension services often results in poor farm practices, affecting yields and subsequently the income and wellbeing of smallholder farmers. Given the high demand for agricultural information and the limited capacity of extension services, a farmer-to-farmer extension approach has been explored by many underserved farmers. In this study, we use a qualitative case study approach explore how cassava farmers who had limited access to agricultural advisory services from public extension agents managed to up-scale their farming business. Our research question was: what lessons can be learned from the lived experience of these farmers to address current challenges of cassava farming? The results of our study revealed diversity in advisory messages from farmer to farmer and agricultural extension agents. Farmers’ messages focused on encouraging farmers’ commitment and motivation towards farming business, availability of needed financial resources for the entire production season, willingness to reinvest profits, and access to farmland for future expansion. In contrast, the traditional messages from agricultural extension agents focused on encouraging group formation to address marketing challenges, diversification of farm operations, and good agricultural practices. These results show the need for pluralistic extension approaches to ensure farmers get access to necessary information. Keywords: Agricultural Extension, Case Study, Farmer to Farmer Extension, Social LearningItem Ghana’s rice value chain resilience in the context of COVID-19(Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 2021) Ankrah, D.A.; Agyei-Holmes, A.; Boakye, A.A.The 2020 State of the Food Security and Nutrition World report suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic may render 83 to 132 million people food insecure. The global south has been projected to be adversely affected by COVID-19 in terms of food and nutritional security. This potentially renders Africa off track in achieving SDG -2 of zero hunger by 2030. Ghana is a net importer of rice and how the sector responded to the global pandemic has received less traction in the agri-food system literature. There is skewed literature that concentrates on the global north. The paper employed a qualitative approach involving key informant interviews across 6 regions in Ghana. The study covered 48 Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) officers, 80 farmers, and 48 market leaders. We use one of the country’s main food staple - rice to show the food (in)-security situation during the pandemic. We articulate that using the right food security conceptual and theoretical framing remains imperative in understanding food (in)-security. The findings showed price hikes during the imposition of lockdown affected access (physical and effective demand). Rice however remained available during and after the lockdown imposition. Ghana’s rice production output was affected during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The ramification of COVID-19 on Ghana’s rice sector was not dire but points to the vulnerability of the rice value chain to future pandemics. Important policy actions are needed to consolidate particular gains made in Ghana’s planting for food and jobs to minimize rice imports.Item Indigenous risk management practices and their effects on small agribusiness firm growth amid economic crisis in Ghana(Scientific African, 2024) Boakye, A. A.; Ankrah, D. A.; Agyei-Holmes, A.; et alThis paper estimates the effect of indigenous risk management practices (used by entrepreneurs) on small firm growth amid the current economic crisis in Ghana. The paper hypothesizes that indigenous risk management practices positively affect the growth of informal micro and small agri-food processing firms during the current economic crisis in Ghana. Cross–sectional and limited panel data (covering four years – from the end of 2019 to the end of 2022) have been used in the analysis. Firm Growth has been estimated using sales volume and the number of employees. Findings indicate that apart from savings for business purposes as an indigenous risk management strategy, diversification of economic activities, subscription to formal insurance, forward con tracting, cooperative marketing, borrowing, sale of assets, and temporary wage employment outside the business exert a positive influence on small firm growth in terms of sales. Subscription to formal insurance and temporary wages outside the entrepreneur’s business positively influence firm growth as related to growth in employee size. We recommend that policymakers design and implement policies that initiate and facilitate the development of marketing cooperatives to negotiate fair prices. This essential tool can help mitigate marketing risks to the agri-food pro cessing entrepreneur. The police should facilitate rolling out skills development programs to increase entrepreneurs’ capacities in forward contracting arrangements. Again, entrepreneurs of agri-food processing firms in the wider Ghanaian population should be educated on the need to subscribe to formal insurance to insulate them in times of property loss or personal accidents.Item Achieving carbon neutrality in Africa is possible: the impact of education, employment, and renewable energy consumption on carbon emissions(Carbon Research, 2024) Elom, C.O.; Ankrah, D.A.; Defor, E.W.; et al.This paper analysed the causal link between education, employment, renewable energy consumption and carbon emissions in Africa, where there is scant evidence. Relying on panel data obtained from the World Development Indicators for thirty-two African countries covering a period of 19 years, and fve panel rigorous regression mod els, we found that renewable energy, investment in education, school enrolment, net national income per capita, and employment had negative and signifcant efects on carbon emission, thus increasing these predictors would result in signifcant reduction in carbon emission in Africa. We identifed a bidirectional causality between carbon emissions and net national income per capita, education expenditure and renewable energy consumption, and car bon emissions and employment. Our fndings suggest that investment in education, renewable energy, and employ ment are relevant in mitigating carbon emissions in Africa. We recommend African governments to invest heavily in education, improve school enrolment, environmental education, renewable energy and employment provision to mitigate carbon emissions.Item Impact of children’s appropriate work participation in cocoa farms on household welfare: Evidence from Ghana(Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 2023) Tham-Agyekum, E.K.; Wongnaa, C.A.; Kwapong, N.A.; et al.This study examines how children engaged in cocoa farming in Ghana affect household welfare. Data was gathered from 384 cocoa producers using a multistage sampling technique and analysed employing the Cragg double hurdle and propensity score method. The study found that only 2.3 % of cocoa farmers highly used children for cocoa activities. Additionally, household size, cooperative membership, and credit access were found to have significant impacts on both the use and extent of use of children on cocoa farms. Moreover, cocoa farmers who used children experienced improvements in their income, food security and assets compared to those who did not use children. The study also confirms the reality of the practice of employing children on cocoa plan tations in Ghana. Harnessing the considerable advantages of credit access and cooperative membership, we emphasize the importance of extension agents sensitizing cocoa farmers about the merits of forming co operatives. This approach could serve as a means of obtaining group/individual credits to support cocoa pro duction. Furthermore, in light of the notable improvements in the welfare of cocoa farmers, it is imperative for COCOBOD to take decisive action in invigorating the regulation against child labor and instead embrace agri cultural technologies as viable alternatives.Item Impact of digital financial inclusion on the participation in farmer-based organisations, structured market and off-farm work in Ghana(Journal of International Development, 2023) Ankrah, D.A.; Asante, B.O.; Prah, S.; et al.This paper examines the impact of mobile money account ownership of farmers' participation in farmer-based organizations (FBOs), structured markets, and off-farm work. Relying on recursive bivariate probit model, our results reveal that owning a mobile money account increases the likelihood of farmers' participating in an FBO, structured market and off-farm work by 15.4%, 33.3%, and 37.5%, respectively. Furthermore, mobile money account ownership is influenced by socioeconomic and institutional factors as well as the presence of mobile money vendors within a community. Our finding call for sustained efforts to deepen digital financial inclusion for increased participation in FBOs, structured markets, and off-farm work.Item Beyond certification: Investigating the nexus between compliance with sustainable agriculture standard and livelihood assets of certified smallholder cocoa farmers in Ghana(Cogent Food & Agriculture, 2023) Ankuyi, F.; Tham-Agyekum, E.K.; Ankrah, D.; et al.Studies have shown that farmers appear to deviate from set certification standards after they have passed audits and received their certificate. This usually makes them vulnerable and affects their livelihood assets. Therefore, this study set out to investigate the nexus between certified smallholder cocoa farmers’ continual compliance with sustainable agriculture standard (SAS) and their livelihood assets. The research was conducted in the Sefwi Wiawso Municipality of Ghana. Data were collected from a survey of 400 cocoa farmers. Ordered logistic regression modelling, Chi-square test, frequencies, means, standard deviations, and percentages were used to analyze data. The findings show that 43.5% of the certified cocoa farmers complied moderately with SAS. Gender, farm size, land ownership, access to credit, engaging in income-generating activities outside of farming, assistance provided by License Buying Companies and extension contact were the determinants of farmers’ level of compliance with SAS. The study revealed a statistically significant association between farmer compliance and livelihood assets. Efforts to increase access to credit for cocoa farmers must be accompanied by efforts to promote and educate farmers on sustainable farming practices.Item Effect of climate variability adaptation strategies on maize yield in the Cape Coast Municipality, Ghana(Cogent Food & Agriculture, 2023) Ankrah, D.; Okyere, C.; Mensah, J.; Okata, E.Maize is a major staple produced by most peasant farmers in Ghana, amidst climate variabilities that potentially thwart the attainment of global sus tainable development goals (SDGs), specifically SDG −2 of zero hunger. Ordinarily, one expects the extant literature to be replete on a nexus between climate varia bility adaptation strategies and maize yields. Ironically, there appears to be scant information on the expected nexus in Ghana’s coastal areas. The dual questions about what adaptation strategies significantly affect maize yield, and the extent (magnitude) to which climate variability strategies affect maize yield beg answer ing. Inspired by these research questions, the objective of this article is to examine the effect of climate variability adaptation strategies on maize yield. This study relies on a cross-sectional data covering 197 smallholder maize farmers in the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly of Ghana’s Central Region. The study is deeply rooted in a quantitative approach employing multiple linear regression and a treatment effect model (inverse probability weighted regression adjustment—IPWRA). Our findings reveal that adaptation strategies correlate with maize yields. Specifically, estimates from the IPWRA show that irrigation and changes in planting dates positively correlate with maize yields. The implication is that these adaptation strategies improve maize yields. Smallholder farmers are encouraged to adopt effective climate variability adaptation strategies to minimize the adverse risksassociated with climate variability. The government of Ghana’s initiative for arid regions, dubbed as the “one village one dam” initiative can be upscaled to southern Ghana to ensure sustainable agricultural developmentItem Sustainable cereal production: A spatial analytical approach using the Ghana living standards survey(Heliyon, 2023) Ankrah, D.A.; Kwapong, N.A.; Agyarko, F.F.; Manteaw, S.A.Ghana as one of the countries south of the Sahara, depends solely on cereals as a major staple food. Ironically, Ghana’s economy depends on large importation from the global north, particularly Asia, due to systemic production deficits. The probability of farming households producing enough cereals and the constraints to meeting domestic supply remains imperative. Therefore, the current research focussed on the Ghana Living Standard Survey seventh round (GLSS7) involving 15,045 cereal farmers nationwide. By estimating the probability of farming households producing cereals and the factors that constrain cereal production. Using random-effects regression models, the empirics show that farming households are expected to produce 5.87 tonnes of cereals annually. Specifically, farming households headed by males are expected to produce 6.01 tonnes of cereal crops in a year, 0.14 tonnes more than female-headed households. Non-poor households are expected to produce 6.82 tonnes of cereals in a year compared with an expected production of 6.29 tonnes by poor households. Cereal production is constrained by wealth status, gender, and age of household heads. Our findings attempt to inform and shape policy towards sustained cereal production in Ghana, and by implication countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) in Ghana, should bring on board a structural policy that will address constraints related to gender, wealth, and age of household heads to enhance sustainable cereal production.