Papers by Yakubu Balma Issaka
The ability of smallholder farmers to adapt to changing climatic conditions is crucial in achievi... more The ability of smallholder farmers to adapt to changing climatic conditions is crucial in achieving domestic and global food security. The study analysed the resilience of smallholder lowland rice farmers to climate variability and the factors influencing the resilience of smallholder rice systems in the Savelugu municipality of the northern region of Ghana. The data was obtained using a cross-sectional questionnaire administered to 241 households and focus group discussions. A multi-dimensional Climate resilience index (CRI) was calculated for household resilience and used to determine relevant factors influencing household resilience through multiple regression analysis. Overall household CRI averaged 0.49, with transformative capacity, a major contributor with an index of 0.69, while adaptive and absorptive capacities were 0.45 and 0.33, respectively. The resilience analysis shows that income and food access, regular access to health, reliable access to improved water, agroecological conditions, resource governance and access to basic services are essential to household resilience against climate variability. The regression analysis results suggest that farmers' age, cropping diversity, households' primary income, plot position, soil quality, flooding, market access and FBO membership influence household resilience to climate variability. To be effective, policies to improve smallholder farmer resilience to climate variability must include diverse strategies allowing farmers the flexibility of selecting a combination of strategies that suits their socioeconomic and contextual situations; depart from farm-specific and technology-centric interventions to include other value chain dimensions and must address the climatic and non-climatic stressors confronting farmers concurrently to achieve the desired impact.
Reducing climate-related risks and uncertainties is crucial for the long-term survival of rain-fe... more Reducing climate-related risks and uncertainties is crucial for the long-term survival of rain-fed smallholder rice farmers in northern ghana. The study explored the role of psychosocial factors in the adoption and use of sustainable intensification practices to mitigate climate variability among smallholder farmers using the modified Unified Theory of acceptance and Use of Technologies and Structural equation Modelling. employing a mixed methods data were obtained from 240 smallholder rice farmers in the Savelugu municipality in the northern region. The results reveal that there is a strong association between behavioural intention and the number of SiPs adopted by a farmer, supporting the theory of reasoned action based on the assumption that behavioural intention predicts use behaviour contrary to suggestions that the influence of behavioural intention on use behaviour may not be particularly strong or predictable; Facilitating conditions had a direct and positive effect on the number of SiPs adopted by farmers and thus, use behaviour; Performance expectancy and farmers' attitudes negatively affected behavioural intention while the effect of Social influence and facilitating conditions on behavioural intension were positive. The results therefore, established the importance of performance expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions and attitude as predictors of farmers' intention to adopt SiPs. The study contributes new insights to the adoption literature by presenting empirical data on how frequently underappreciated non-economic factors affect farmers' adoption decisions in a setting characterised by informal interactions and data quality restrictions.
The study was conducted in organic and conventional crop farms in the West Mamprusi District of t... more The study was conducted in organic and conventional crop farms in the West Mamprusi District of the Northern Region of Ghana. The key issue the study sought to determine was whether there are productivity differences among organic and conventional crop farms and what factors account for these differences. The results indeed revealed that there are productivity differences among organic and conventional crop farms. However, both had negative total factor productivity growth, largely accounted for by a negative technical change over the period considered. The technical efficiency change, however, was positive for both but much higher for organic farms than conventional farms. More importantly, the study revealed that the type of agriculture practiced by farmers is not the most critical problem confronting farmers as indicated by the negative total productivity growth for both. Major constraints confronting farmers that need to be addressed include better organization on the farmers’ f...
UDS International Journal of Development
The production of traditional African vegetables is an age-old tradition among the people of the ... more The production of traditional African vegetables is an age-old tradition among the people of the northern region of Ghana. However, the knowledge base of traditional African vegetable production remains local due to a lack of research and policy support. Therefore, the adoption of improved technology among traditional vegetable farmers is generally low and impedes efforts to promote widespread cultivation, consumption and even commercialisation. This study aims at clarifying potential factors that determine the adoption of technologies by traditional African vegetable farmers in the northern region of Ghana. One hundred and five (105) respondents in five communities and across two administrative districts in the northern region were selected for an in-depth survey using a combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. In addition, a logit regression was used to determine the effect of various factors on technology adoption by farmers. Among the factors, the edu...
International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management
PurposeThis paper examines the performance of smallholder rice farms established using improved p... more PurposeThis paper examines the performance of smallholder rice farms established using improved planting technologies – broadcasting, dibbling and transplanting – under different production systems – rain-fed and irrigation – in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachUsing recent cross-sectional data of 200 smallholder rice farmers from the upper east region of Ghana, this study employed multinomial logit model and descriptive and inferential statistics for the analysis.FindingsThe results revealed that rice production under irrigation system contributes significantly to increasing farm productivity and profitability. Rice farmers who adopted dibbling and transplanting technologies under both irrigation and rain-fed production system obtained higher productivity and profitability than those who used broadcasting technology. Adoption of improved rice planting technologies by smallholder farmers is significantly influenced by education, farm size, improved rice varieties, sales outlets, hir...
UDS International Journal of Development , 2021
The production of traditional African vegetables is an age-old tradition among the people of the ... more The production of traditional African vegetables is an age-old tradition among the people of the northern region of Ghana. However, the knowledge base of traditional African vegetable production remains local due to a lack of research and policy support. Therefore, the adoption of improved technology among traditional vegetable farmers is generally low and impedes efforts to promote widespread cultivation, consumption and even commercialisation. This study aims at clarifying potential factors that determine the adoption of technologies by traditional African vegetable farmers in the northern region of Ghana. One hundred and five (105) respondents in five communities and across two administrative districts in the northern region were selected for an in-depth survey using a combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. In addition, a logit regression was used to determine the effect of various factors on technology adoption by farmers. Among the factors, the educational level of a farmer, access to credit, farm size, experience in farming and access to extension support were found to be important factors affecting the decision of traditional African vegetable farmers to adopt improved technology. The results of this study can help enhance the effectiveness of policy reorientation towards a more effective commercialisation of traditional African vegetables in Ghana and elsewhere.
International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management
PurposeThis paper examines the performance of smallholder rice farms established using improved p... more PurposeThis paper examines the performance of smallholder rice farms established using improved planting technologies – broadcasting, dibbling and transplanting – under different production systems – rain-fed and irrigation – in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachUsing recent cross-sectional data of 200 smallholder rice farmers from the upper east region of Ghana, this study employed multinomial logit model and descriptive and inferential statistics for the analysis.FindingsThe results revealed that rice production under irrigation system contributes significantly to increasing farm productivity and profitability. Rice farmers who adopted dibbling and transplanting technologies under both irrigation and rain-fed production system obtained higher productivity and profitability than those who used broadcasting technology. Adoption of improved rice planting technologies by smallholder farmers is significantly influenced by education, farm size, improved rice varieties, sales outlets, hir...
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Papers by Yakubu Balma Issaka