Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness

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    Determinants of livelihood diversification in an integrated agricultural and non-agricultural livelihood system in Ghana
    (Scientific African, 2024) Kolog, J.D.; Asem, F.E.; Mensah-Bonsu, A.; Atinga, R.A.; et al.
    The diversification of livelihoods by households has been widely acknowledged as a way to overcome food insecurity and poverty challenges in developing countries. Diversification of livelihoods help spread the risk among multiple livelihoods earning activities to provide house holds with a range of their food needs all year round. By examining the integrated livelihood systems of 405 rural farm households in the Upper East Region of Ghana, empirical evidence is provided in this study using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework to advance arguments in the literature for the creation of sustainable strategies that improve diversified livelihood systems. The mean diversification indices estimated were 0.45 for agricultural diversification systems, 0.32 for non-agricultural diversification systems and 0.59 for integrated agricultural and nonagricultural diversification systems. With the use of the Cragg two-step regression model, we demonstrate that the decision to diversify and the extent of diversification of rural livelihoods are distinct decisions and are influenced by distinct sets of factors. Similarly, for the three categories of livelihood diversification studied, the effect of these factors also differed. The results emphasize the significance of access to good road network, credit and market information in encouraging rural farm households to diversify their livelihoods. In the short term, improving access to credit and market information through community-based initiatives can provide immediate support to rural households. Communities should also organize local markets and cooperatives to strengthen their economic resilience. While government and stakeholders should focus on long-term infra structure projects, these community actions can complement such efforts and contribute to achieving global and regional goals targeting food insecurity and poverty eradication
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    Determinants of an extended metric of agricultural commercialization in Ghana
    (Scientific African, 2024) Abu , B.M.; Sarpong, D.B.; Osei-Asare, Y.B.; Okyere, C.Y.; Kim.T.
    For smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, increasing productivity and agricultural commercialization are mooted as one of the pillars for agricultural development. However, the measurement of agricultural commercialization has been restricted to the household crop commercialization index (HCCI) that focuses on crops neglecting livestock. This study develops an extended metric of agricultural commercialization named household crop-livestock commer cialization index (HCLCI), which combines crop and livestock commercialization with the argument that it is superior to the overly used HCCI. Fractional regression is used to estimate the determinants of the extended metric using secondary and primary data from Ghana. Results indicate that agricultural commercialization is low when examined with the HCCI and the HCLCI. However, the HCLCI (at 26.44 % and 29.76 %, respectively, for the GLSS7 and primary data) is much lower relative to the HCCI (at 35.20 % and 38.24, respectively) but higher than the live stock commercialization index (10.93 % and 8.21 %, respectively). The underlying simultaneous factors that boost agricultural commercialization are infrastructure variables (i.e., road, market, transport, and bank), institutional variable (i.e., agricultural cooperatives) and scale of produc tion (i.e., land endowment and crop production diversity). These findings imply that Ghana needs to invest in infrastructure and farmer institutional development to boost agricultural commercialization.
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    A process evaluation of a home garden intervention
    (Agriculture & Food Security, 2024) Ritter, T.; Mockshell, J.; Garrett, J.; Ogutu, S.; Asante‑Addo, C.
    Background Most reviews of nutrition-sensitive programs assess the evidence base for nutrition outcomes with out considering how programs were delivered. Process evaluations can fill this void by exploring how or why impacts were or were not achieved. This mid-term process evaluation examines a home garden intervention implemented in a large-scale, livelihoods improvement program in Odisha, India. The objectives are to understand whether the intervention was operating as planned (fidelity), investigate potential pathways to achieve greater impact, and provide insights to help design future home garden programs. Methodology Data collection and analysis for this theory-driven process evaluation are based on a program impact pathway that shows the fow of inputs, processes, outputs, outcomes, and impacts. Quantitative and qualitative data from focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews, and a Process Net-Mapping exercise with benefciaries frontline workers, and program management staff. Results Despite a mismatch between the design and implementation (low fidelity), the process evaluation identified positive outputs, outcomes, and impacts on home garden production, consumption, income, health and nutritional outcomes, and women’s empowerment. Flexibility led to greater positive outcomes on nutrition, the adoption of sus‑ tainable agricultural practices and easy-to-understand nutrition models, and the likelihood of the intervention being sustained after the program ends. Conclusions To help food systems in rural settings reduce food insecurity by utilizing more sustainable agricultural practices, we recommend that home garden interventions include instruction on easy-to-understand nutrition models and on how to make natural fertilizer. Finding local solutions like home gardens to help address critical supply issues and food insecurity is paramount
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    Implications of crop yield distributions for multiperil crop insurance rating in Ghana: a lasso model application
    (Agricultural Finance Review, 2024) Addey, K.A.; Jatoe, J.B.D.
    Purpose – The objective of this paper is to examine crop yield predictions and their implications on MPCI in Ghana. Farmers in developing countries struggle with their ability to deal with agricultural risks. Providing aid for farmers and their households remains instrumental in combatting poverty in Africa. Several studies have shown that correctly understanding and implementing risk management strategies will help in the poverty alleviation agenda. Design/methodology/approach – This study examines the importance of crop yield distributions in Ghana and its implication on multiperil crop insurance (MPCI) rating using the Lasso regression model. A Bonferroni test was employed to test the independence of crop yields across the regions while the Kruskal-Wallis H test was conducted to examine statistical differences in mean yields of crops across the ten regions. The Bayesian information criteria and k-fold cross-validation methods are used to select an appropriate Lasso regression model for the prediction of crop yields. The study focuses on the variability of the threshold yields across regions based on the chosen model. Findings – It is revealed that threshold yields differ significantly across the regions in the country. This implies that the payment of claims will not be evenly distributed across the regions, and hence regional disparities need to be considered when pricing MPCI products. In other words, policymakers may choose to assign respective weights across regions based on their threshold yields. Research limitations/implications – The primary limitation is the unavailability of regional climate data which could have helped in a better explanation of the variation across the regions. Originality/value – This is the first study to examine the implications of regional crop yield variations on multiperil crop insurance rating in Ghana.
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    Analysis of fishers’ wellbeing in the western region of Ghana
    (Development in Practice, 2023) Onumah, E.E.; Al-Hassan, R.M.; Ocran, J.; Béné, C.
    Small-scale fisheries in Ghana are declining in response to the global fisheries crisis. The policies to curb this situation are dependent on the wellbeing of fishers in terms of material condition, quality of life, and transformative strategies for sustainable livelihoods. This paper employs survey data to investigate the wellbeing of fishers, using descriptives, principal-component analysis, and structural equation modelling. The results revealed that the summative effect of material condition and quality of life, and sustainability on fishers’ wellbeing is low. Despite the low ranking of income (lower among men fishers than women fishers) processors), basic necessities, and government support, fishers are still motivated to work but claim that their children may one day be locked out of the industry. This paper addresses the gap in the literature by establishing the need to enhance educational facilities for the children of fishers, while complementing with investments that create job opportunities in the fishing communities. This may eventually reduce dependence on the sea for sustainable fisheries.
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    Protocol: The impact of infrastructure on low‐income consumers' nutritious diet, women's economic empowerment, and gender equality in low‐ and middle‐income countries: An evidence and gap map
    (Campbell Systematic Reviews, 2023) Obeng‐Amoako, G.A.O.; Okyere, C.Y.; Nyan, C.P.; et al.
    This is the protocol for an evidence and gap map. The objectives are as follows: this evidence and gap map (EGM) aims to identify, map, and provide an overview of the existing evidence and gaps on the impact of different types of physical infrastructure on various outcomes of low-income consumers' nutritious diet, women's economic empowerment, and gender equality in low- and middle-income countries. The specific objectives of the EGM are: (1) identify clusters of evidence that offer opportunities for evidence synthesis and (2) identify gaps in evidence where new studies, research, and evaluations are needed
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    The effect of carbon farming training on food security and development resilience in Northern Ghana
    (Climate and Development, 2024) Okyere, C.Y.; Atta-Ankomah, R.; Asante-Addo, C.; Kornher, L.
    Carbon farming has recently been advocated for as a climate change and variability mitigation and/or adaptation strategy in global agriculture. In this study, we address an important research question of whether carbon farming training can improve household resilience capacity as well as food security by employing internationally standardized indicators. Household resilience capacity and its components are measured using the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)’s resilience capacity index while the food security measures used include household and child food insecurity experience scale (FIES and CFIES), food consumption score (FCS) and household dietary diversity score (HDDS). We relied on doubly robust treatment effect estimators to account for potential selection bias and heterogeneity. We find that carbon farming training has no statistically significant effect on overall household resilience capacity. However, we find a large and statistically significant effect on key components of resilience (specifically, access to basic services, assets and social safety nets) and a marginal improvement in adaptive capacity. We also find statistically significant effect on FCS and HDDS but not for the other food security indicators (FIES and CFIES). Overall, the results suggest that agricultural training programs, particularly climate change adaptation capacity building initiatives, could improve important welfare measures in developing countries.
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    Typology and performance of inter-organizational relationships among Ghanaian farmers
    (International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, 2021) Adaku, A.A.; Amanor-Boadu, V.
    This study explored inter-organizational relationships (IOR) between farmers and agri-food processors in Ghana and their relative effect on participating farmers’ performance. The IOR were organized into three broad types: governance (formal/informal); orientation (price, quality, or quantity); and structure (direct-to-buyer). farmer-based organization (FBO)/agent). The study showed that about 44% of farmers participated in IOR. and 72% of them use direct-to-buyer relationships compared to 25% and 5% who use FBO and agents. The total exceeds 100% because some farmers used multiple IOR structures. Likewise, more than half of farmers involved in IOR use multiple orientations, with 29%, 81% and 54% of them using orientations involving quantity, quality, and price specifications, respectively. Formal governance (IOR) accounted for 31% of IOR by governance. On performance, the average farm income of farmers involved in IOR was GHS 3,947, which was 3.1 times higher than non-IOR farmers, and those with formal arrangements had 6.4 times higher average farm income than farmers in informal relationships. IOR with formal governance and quality-price orientation presented positive and statistically significant effects on marginal benefits, while producer demographics and socio-economic characteristics did not. These results provide instruction for policymakers and practitioners in helping inform farmers’ participation in IOR that produces superior outcomes.
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    Mapping of community perspectives on land acquisition for biofuel investment in northern Ghana
    (Land Use Policy, 2024) Kupabado, M.M.; Mensah-Bonsu, A.
    We apply Q methodology, a model with a qualitative background, albeit with rigorous quantitative analysis, to map community perspectives (concerns, attitudes, beliefs, opinions, and perceptions) towards the acquisition of communal land for a biofuel project in northern Ghana. We extracted four community perspectives, in the order of importance as follows: (1) pro-biofuel project, but pessimistic (2) against the biofuel project (pro-environ mental) (3) strong against and (4) optimistic. Taken together, the perspectives suggest the local people believe the biofuel project has no potential to improve their livelihoods, meanwhile, there is a consensus that the project destroyed trees of economic importance and provided poor working conditions for the local employees. We recommend (1) the establishment of enforceable economic and social contracts between the employees, local land users and the biofuel investors (2) direct monetary compensation for the affected communal land users (3) investigation of allegations of late or partial-payment of salaries of the biofuel project’s employees (4) future considerations for acquiring communal land should include broad community consultations and incorporate the local land users’ interests, concerns, and viewpoints and (5) the local bioenergy policy of the government of Ghana must include checks on communal land sale decisions, which directly or indirectly impact the welfare of the people.
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    Abnormal pricing in international commodity trading: Evidence from Ghana
    (International Economics, 2022) Ahene-Codjoe, A.A.; Alu, A.A.; Mehrotra, R.
    mispricing of international trade in natural resources contributes to significant tax base erosion from developing countries but is difficult to measure using aggregate trade statistics. In this paper, We apply a novel approach motivated by legal rules for trade and transfer, mispricing. to estimate. abnormal pricing in gold and cocoa exports from Ghana, i.e., exports valued outside an assumed arm's length price range that indicates fair market values. Using daily frequency, transaction-level data from Ghana Customs, our results indicate abnormally undervalued exports of gold and cocoa from Ghana equalled USD 8.8 billion in constant prices (base year 2011) or USD 4.1 billion in current prices between 2011 and 2017. Approximately 11% of gold dorm exports and 1% of cocoa bean exports, and 7.2% of cocoa paste exports appear abnormally undervalued. The implied corporate tax base erosion equals USD 2.2 billion in constant prices (base year 2011), corresponding to an average annual decrease of 0.3% in Ghana's tax-to-GDP ratio.