4.1 Ghana Results
4.3.3 Technology- Specific Marginal Effects
In modeling the adoption of fertilizer, plot size, household size, and cooperative
membership were found to have positive significant effects. A one% increase in farm size yields an 18.93% increase in the likelihood of adoption of fertilizer. This result suggests that larger farms are able to mitigate some of the production risk as well as the financial undertaking of fertilizer application and its complementary inputs. Also, as household size increases the likelihood of adopting fertilizer increases. One possible explanation for this result could be that larger households have a larger labor source. Membership in a cooperative increased the likelihood of fertilizer adoption by 16.73% and was significant at the ten% level. This supports the results of other studies that have cited the importance of cooperatives as a means of
increasing famer awareness of modern production technologies.
Regarding the adoption of advanced irrigation practices, farm size and household size both have positive significant effects at the one% level. Implications from these results can be the same as those drawn above concerning the adoption of fertilizer. Age, access to credit, and cooperative membership also had significant positive effects on adoption. The positive effect on age suggests that as farmers gain more experience they are more likely to adopt irrigation. An explanation for this is that farmers with more experience are more likely to understand the yield
benefits associated with proper irrigation. Access to credit has a positive significant effect on the probability of the adoption of irrigation. This suggests that access to credit is necessary for farmers to be able to cover the financial outlays associated with irrigation systems. Membership in a cooperative increased the likelihood of irrigation adoption by 5.77% among surveyed farmers. This suggests that in Senegal cooperatives are a major channel where farmers can access key inputs and information to improve production practices (Abebaw and Haile 2013).
The adoption of improved storage methods in Senegal was positively and significantly impacted by land title, access to credit, access to agricultural information, and cooperative membership. The probability of adoption of improved storage increased by 27.5% for farmers holding title to the land they cultivate. This is consistent with findings from Feder and Umail (1993). The probability of adoption increased by 7.3% if farmers reported having access to credit and by 6.3% if farmers had access to information. Membership in a cooperative increased the probability of improved storage adoption by 4.62%. All these results suggest the importance of access to these resources for adoption to be successful, especially when trying to reduce post-harvest losses.
Table 12: Location of Households Surveyed in Senegal
Region Agro-Ecological Zone No. Surveys
Fatick Groundnut Basin 99
Kaffrine Groundnut Basin 101
Kolda Upper Casamance 105
Matam Senegal River Valley (Fleuve) 102
Tambacounda Upper Casamance 103
Total 510
Table 13: Variables and Summary Statistics for Equation 11 - Senegal
Variable Mean Std. Dev. Minimum Maximum
Plot Size 4.01 4.25 0.10 30.00
Household Size 14.90 9.67 1.00 83.00
Age 52.53 15.39 19.00 98.00
Education 0.19 0.39 0.00 1.00
Land Title 0.03 0.17 0.00 1.00
Access to Credit 0.37 0.48 0.00 1.00
Agricultural Info 0.68 0.47 0.00 1.00
Coop Membership
0.1294 0.34 0.00 1.00
Table 14: Incidence of Technology Adoption in Senegal (% of Households) Technology Fatick Kaffrine Kolda Matam Tabamcounda
Fertilizer 75.76 49.5 33.33 29.42 17.47
Irrigation 3.03 11.88 8.57 3.92 3.88
Improved Storage 12.12 15.84 13.33 36.27 12.62 Note: All values above shown in percentages.
Table 15: Senegal Probit Model Reults
Estimated Coefficients Change in
AccessCredit 0.467*** 3.39 0.1835
AgInfo 0.212* 1.60 0.0843
CoopMember 0.309* 1.64 0.1211
Constant -1.236*** -4.38
*,**,*** denotes P-value of ≤ 10% , P ≤ 5% , and P ≤ 1% respectively.
Table 16: Senegal Technology Marginal Effects on Probability of Adoption Variable Fertilizer Irrigation Improved Storage
PlotSize 0.1893*** 0.0267** 0.00607
HHTotal 0.0267* 0.005** 0.00115
Age 0.005 -0.0007* 0.00053
Education -0.0007 0.0109 -0.01586
LandTitle 0.0109 -0.0446 0.2748**
AccessCredit -0.0446 0.1556*** 0.0731**
AgInfo 0.1556* 0.0551 0.0633**
CoopMember 0.1673** 0.0577** 0.0462*
*,**,*** denotes a value of P ≤ 10% , P ≤ 5% , and P ≤ 1% respectively.
CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS 5.1 Overall Country Conclusions
This thesis has provided insight about the underlying socioeconomic factors influencing the decision to adopt agricultural technology in three countries in West Africa – Ghana, Liberia and Senegal. For all three countries, the results show that access to credit, access to agricultural information, membership in a farmer’s cooperative, and land tenure have positive effects on the probability of adoption.
The finding with respect to access to credit are particularly strong and are positive across all technologies in all three countries studied. Trouble accessing credit appears to be a major limitation to technology adoption. This is especially true for technologies that require significant financial outlays, such as fertilizer, which smallholders or subsistence farmers are unlikely to afford. Policies are needed to strengthen credit markets in all countries. A recent analysis of the rural credit market in Ghana stated “lack of credit has been identified as one of the major constraints limiting agricultural growth… especially for small farmers, whose contribution to agriculture production is crucial” (Owusu-Antwi and Antwi 2010). This problem can be applied to the current credit market situations in all three countries. Access to microfinance and
agricultural credit would be especially helpful to overcome the fluctuations in production costs especially around planting. As many large microfinance groups are less likely to lend to farmers due to risk aversion, farmers cooperatives and groups could use means such as village or small group banking to obtain credit. The structure of group lending could also see lower interest rates compared to moneylenders, such as Ghanaian susu collectors, the main source of informal credit.
Using this mechanism, members of the group are help accountable by their peers and can receive cash as quickly as possible so that they can purchase necessary inputs. It is expected that
increased access to financial services can help improve household access sufficient capital to purchase agricultural inputs, increasing agricultural productivity and household income.
Access to agricultural information, including extension contact, was found to positively influence to adoption of technology. Appropriate information is needed both in the adoption decision and also in the management of the adopted technology to impact production levels.
Information from extension, farmers groups, or media reduces the marginal cost of production and contributes to increasing farmers’ profits. The results suggest that education and training of farmers should be made a priority when planning schemes to increase agricultural production in an effort to reduce poverty. Complementary government investments in training and education program, as well as funding to extension agencies to improve quality of services, are important in ensuring efficient and timely distribution of information to farmers.
Membership in a farmers’ cooperative was found to be strongly associated with adoption across all countries. These cooperatives are an important tool to overcome many small farm inefficiencies in an effort to reduce rural poverty and increase food security. Members of these cooperatives have many benefits including lower transaction costs on loans, lower costs to inputs, and better market and technology information. This strengthens the argument that West African governments should increase investments that directly benefit agricultural groups and associations. Policies that can benefit cooperatives and their members directly include those that financially support cooperatives. Policies that can benefit cooperatives indirectly are those, which improve the environment of cooperatives and promote equality of access among members. Access to rural credit and small loans are essential to a successful cooperative, therefore policies that stabilize rural credit markets benefit members as well as the organization as a whole.
The results also point to a positive impact of land tenure on the adoption of various technologies. This reinforces the strong association between land ownership and influence in decision-making, as landowners are more involved with long-term production decisions than those without rights to the land. This suggests that policies to improve land tenure are important in promoting agricultural technology adoption.
These results should be taken cautiously, as technology adoption is not automatic.
Further research is needed to understand the nuances of technology adoption in different regions, so one-size-fits-all efforts are not appropriate. To increase the likelihood of the adoption of modern technologies in the three countries, policy makers should put emphasis on improving the quality and funding for programs influenced by the factors found to be important in explaining the technology adoption in the three countries studied.
5.2 Technology-Specific Policy Recommendations
There were some significant differences in the results for the technology adoption estimates for the various countries. These differences in the results point to unique policy recommendations for the various technologies in each country.
5.2.1 Fertilizer
The third pillar of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) is centered on improving food security through the modernization of agriculture.
Included is the Abuja Declaration on Fertilizers for an African Green Revolution, which resolves to increase average fertilizer use from 8 kilograms per hectare to 50 kilograms per hectare by 2015. Specifically, the declaration requires that member states “take appropriate measures to reduce the cost of fertilizer procurement” (African Union 2006). In addition, states are required to “take concrete measures to improve farmers’ access to fertilizer by developing and scaling up input dealers and community-based networks across regional areas” (African Union 2006).
Several studies have evaluated fertilizer policies and use in various Sub Saharan African countries. These studies have found significant inefficiencies in policy implementation, such as the program in Ghana.
One specific policy recommendation to improve fertilizer use in Ghana would be to minimize government intervention and allow the market to work. This follows the Fertilizer Market Development Program model, such as the one implemented in Kenya. This system is not as focused on the actual cost of fertilizer itself, but rather involves “improving the policy
environment, strengthening and expanding the network of private agro-input dealers with training and credit” and increasing farmers’ knowledge base through innovative tools such as demonstration plots (Minot 2009). These programs are multi-dimensional and are matched with increased public and private investments in agricultural education and extension. Improving market conditions and linkages improves access to fertilizer for all farmers, increases competition in the fertilizer market, which should lower prices felt by farmers. Rather than giving money directly to the farmers, these investments improve access to fertilizer through better information and a stronger supply chain. With the government money not put towards direct fertilizer price subsidies, I would recommend complementary investments in rural infrastructure to lower transportation costs and increase smallholder market access.
The government of Liberia does not currently have specific fertilizer policies. In Liberia, the adoption of fertilizer was significantly influenced by farmer age, education, and access to agricultural information. Given that these are similar to the factors found to be significant to the adoption decision in Ghana, it is recommended that Liberia also implement a Fertilizer Market Development scheme similar to the one explained above.
In Senegal, the adoption of fertilizer was significantly influenced by farm size, indicating that larger farmer were more likely to adopt. This emphasizes the need for policies
that support affordability and access to fertilizer for smallholders. In order to reach these targets, a Fertilizer Market Development scheme is recommended. This could be coupled with the smart subsidies that have already shown some success application rates and domestic staple production in Senegal.
5.2.2 Irrigation
The first pillar of the CAADP promotes effective and sustainable land and water management practices. The framework of this pillar requires investment in small- and medium-scale irrigation schemes to increase access for smallholders. The adoption of irrigation in these countries was significantly impacted by plot size, access to credit, and access to agricultural information. In order to promote the adoption of modern irrigation systems, I would recommend that the government increase investments for small-scale irrigation system for remote
communities. This overcomes the largest constraint to irrigation use, which is proximity to a reliable water source. In areas near a river or lake, such as the Volta region in Ghana or Senegal River Valley, the government should invest in small-scale irrigation and drainage systems, such as treadle pumps, which have been installed in some areas of the country already. These pumps come in two types, suction and pressure pumps. These are much less expensive than motorized pumps, allowing investments to be spread across a greater number of pumps (which serves a greater number of smallholders). To complement government investments in treadle pumps, investments should be made to incorporate training of proper use and maintenance of pumps into fertilizer trainings and farmer groups.
5.2.3 Improved Storage
None of the three countries included in this study have explicit policies in place to increase the use of improved post-harvest storage methods. However, specific policies to support access to improved storage should be promoted to reduce post-harvest losses to smallholders. To
increase the adoption of improved storage methods, the most effective government action would be to invest in trainings for farmers in proper post-harvest storage and handling. This is
supported by the results in Liberia that revealed that education is a significant factor in the decision to adopt improved storage methods. This investment could be used to support training to farmers groups who have historically been an efficient way to spread information. Investment to support farmers’ groups could also allow the group to invest in a single storage unit to offset costs to the individual small farmer. In addition, encouraging private investment to support these activities, such as current efforts by the World Food Program’s Purchase for Progress initiative, could help to offset direct costs to the government.
In Senegal, the adoption of improved storage was significantly influenced by land title, access to credit, and access to agricultural information. In addition to policies that invest in quality farmer training about storage, these results suggest that more effective and transparent land rights are an important part of increasing modern storage adoption. Despite government efforts to regulate land rights through formal law, customary law in Senegal continues to govern land rights and transfer between individuals. The Land Tenure Security Activity, run by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in Senegal, is working to formalize the tenure process to ensure that land rights are documented for farmers. It is recommended that the government of Senegal support these activities by investing in the infrastructure needed to register smallholders such as the human capital to implement the reform, such as staff for local governments, as well as modern technology to register land effectively.
5.3 Limitations of Study and Recommendations for Future Research 5.3.1 Limitations of this Study
The main objective of this thesis was to identify factors that are associated with
households’ adoption of improved agricultural technology and the variations between countries.
The study faces the following limitations:
1) The survey collected data at the household level, and therefore was unable to capture community variables that are also important to consider when modeling adoption.
For example, community or village information such as access to electricity, road conditions, and proximity to market were not collected.
2) The probit model used to model adoption only included several explanatory
variables out of the many to be considered. For example, other crucial variables such as access to market and membership in a farmers group were not included due to large missing values in the dataset.
3) Endogeneity problems could affect the estimation of some of the explanatory variables due to selection bias when the primary household data was collected. For example, households choose whether or not to receive financial or extension services. Households who derive significant benefits from these services are more likely to take part in these activities.
5.3.2 Recommendations for Future Research
Generally, further research is needed to collect more complete household-level data from farming households in these areas. This could include additional details on socio-demographic information as well as village or community data to be incorporated into future models.
Evidence from this thesis suggests significant regional and technological differences in the adoption of studied technologies. Therefore, continued research is an important way to better understand the nuances of technology adoption for a specific region and/or technology. One suggestions is that in order to get qualitative data on what drives a farmer to adopt or not adopt studies should include trips to local farmer groups, cooperatives, and extension agencies.
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