Determinants of farm diversification in integrated crop-livestock farming systems in Ghana
Agricultural diversification has been identified as one of the mechanisms for managing household food security and poverty in developing economies, because it can spread the risk among multiple production enterprises and provide a range of food items for the households. By examining the integrated farming systems of 608 smallholders in Ghana, this paper presents empirical evidence to support the development of effective strategies that enhance diversified farming systems. The estimated mean diversification indices were 0.45, 0.32 and 0.59 for crop, livestock and crop-livestock diversification systems, respectively. Using the Cragg two-step regression model, this paper shows that the decision to diversify and the extent of diversification are distinct decisions affected by different sets of factors. Likewise, the effect of these factors also varied across the three categories of diversification examined. Careful consideration needs to be given to the selection of factors and the methods for examining the diversification process to avoid confounding recommendations. The findings underscore the importance of households' access to tillage equipment, fertilizers, credit and market information in encouraging farmers to diversify.
Impacts of exposure and access to seed on the adoption of dual-purpose Cowpea and Groundnut varieties in Ghana
Dual-purpose cowpea (DPC) and dual-purpose groundnut (DPG) varieties provide good yields, improved soil fertility through nitrogen fixation, and, at the same time, provide large amounts of good quality fodder to be used as feed or manure in crop-livestock integrated farming systems in Ghana. Hence, these varieties play a significant role in improving the productivity and efficiency of crop-livestock systems in Ghana. This paper estimates the population potential adoption rates of the DPC and DPG varieties and their determinants among integrated crop-livestock farmers in Ghana when there is full access to complete and accurate information and access to the seed by farmers. Because these varieties have been newly introduced, not all farmers are aware of them nor have access to the seed. Using cross-sectional data from 608 farmers, this paper applies the average-treatment-effect method to estimate the population potential adoption rates of the DPC and DPG varieties and coefficients of their determinants among integrated crop-livestock farmers. The result shows that, potential population adoption rates of DPC and DPG could reach 78% and 85%, if all farmers have knowledge about the varieties, and up to 83% and 94%, respectively, if all the farmers have knowledge and access to seed. These results indicate that there are adoption gaps of 42% and 47% due to incomplete knowledge of DPC and DPG and 47% and 55% due to incomplete access to seed of the respective varieties. The adoption gaps suggest that there is still potential for increasing the adoption rates of these dual purpose legumes among crop-livestock farmers in Ghana if exposure and access to seed of the varieties are universal among the farmers. Also farmers with access to extension, research institutes and credit are more likely to be exposed, have access to the seed and adopt the varieties.