Tropentag 2023, September 20 - 22, Berlin, Germany "Competing pathways for equitable food systems transformation: trade-offs and synergies."

Climate Information and demographic influence on climate-smart agricultural technology adoption in Ghana

¹University for Development Studies, Fac. of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Sciences, Ghana
²The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, Ghana
³International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ghana
⁴Université Nationale d’Agriculture (UNA), Ecole de Gestion et de Production Végétale et Semencière (EGPVS), Benin
⁵The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, Senegal

Abstract

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) has become a touchy subject among all stakeholders in developing countries such as Ghana. Despite all efforts to promote the CSA to achieve sustainable yields, boost food and nutrition security, and adapt to and mitigate climate change, farmers involvement is low. Stakeholders and other value chain actors, such as credit and service providers, are withdrawing in large numbers as a result of the agriculture risk trend. This study, therefore, seeks to suggest that beyond the adoption of CSA practices, farmers have to express their prioritisation of the adopted CSA practices. Stakeholders can therefore focus on adopted practices that are prioritised by the farmers to ensure increases and sustainable adoption of these CSAs. Descriptive statistics, multivariate probit, and the multinomial probit model were used to examine the extent to which farmers have adopted and prioritised CSA practices, as well as the factors of both adoption and prioritising. It was discovered that the determinants of CSA practices are best observed when the practices are prioritised. The study also revealed that not all adopted practices were prioritised, indicating that adoption is based on additional factors but not solely on utility maximisation. This alters farmers’ perceptions of the improvement of these practices, which influences their continuous use of the practices. The CSA practices that were prioritised (climate-information improvement, leguminous crop rotation, organic improvement of soil health, pest/disease tolerance varieties, and stress-tolerance varieties) had significant determinates. This was based on the farmer's maximal associated benefit of practice, as they prioritised the ones they adopted. The study discovered that the five prioritised practices were climate-information improvement; leguminous crop rotation; organic improvement of soil health; pest/disease tolerance varieties; stress-tolerance varieties were good for stakeholder investment. The study recommends that, the level of CSA prioritisation by farmers who are the end users of CSA practices should be considered by government and stakeholders in their action plans.

Keywords: Adoption, climate-smart agriculture, CSA practices, determinants

Contact Address: Osman Tahidu Damba, University for Development Studies (UDS), Dept. of Agricultural & Food Economics, Nyankpala Campus, Tamale, Ghana, e-mail: otdambagmail.com