Agricultural Mechanization In Ghana Is Specialization In Agricultural Mechanization A Viable Business Model

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Agricultural mechanization in Ghana: Is specialization in agricultural mechanization a viable business model?

Houssou, Nazaire,Diao, Xinshen,Cossar, Frances,Kolavalli, Shashidhara,Jimah, Kipo,Aboagye, Patrick Ohene
Agricultural mechanization in Ghana Is specialization in agricultural mechanization a viable business model Book PDF

Author : Houssou, Nazaire,Diao, Xinshen,Cossar, Frances,Kolavalli, Shashidhara,Jimah, Kipo,Aboagye, Patrick Ohene
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2024-07-01
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Agricultural mechanization in Ghana: Is specialization in agricultural mechanization a viable business model? by Houssou, Nazaire,Diao, Xinshen,Cossar, Frances,Kolavalli, Shashidhara,Jimah, Kipo,Aboagye, Patrick Ohene Pdf

Since 2007, the government of Ghana has been providing subsidized agricultural machines to private enterprises established as Agricultural Mechanization Services Enterprise Centers (AMSEC) to scale up tractor-hire services to smallholder farmers. Although farmer’s demand for mechanization has increased in recent years, most of this demand concentrates on land preparation (plowing) service. Using the firm investment model and recent data, this paper quantitatively assesses whether AMSEC as a private enterprise is a viable business model attractive to private investors. Even though the intention of the government is to promote private sector-led mechanization, findings suggest that the AMSEC model is unlikely to be a profitable business model attractive to private investors even with the current level of subsidy. The low tractor utilization rate as a result of low operational scale is the most important constraint to the intertemporal profitability of tractor-hire services. Our findings further support the argument of Pingali, Bigot, and Binswanger (1987), who indicated that mechanization service centers supported through government’s heavy subsidy are not a policy option anywhere in the world, even in the current situation in Ghana. Although the tractor rental service market is a proper way of mechanizing agriculture in a smallholder-dominated agricultural economy such as Ghana, this paper concludes that the development of such a market depends crucially on a number of factors, including increased tractor use through migration across the two very different rainfall zones (north and south), increased tractor use through multiple tasks, and use of low-cost tractors. The government can play an important role in facilitating the development of a tractor service market; however, the successful development of such a market depends on the incentive and innovation of the private sector, including farmers who want to own tractors as part of their business portfolio, traders who know how to bring in affordable tractors and expand the market, and manufacturers in exporting countries who want to seek a long-term potential market opportunity in Ghana and in other west African countries.

Agricultural Mechanization in Ghana

Nazaire Houssou,Xinshen Diao,Frances Cossar,Shashidhara Kolavalli,Kipo Jimah,Patrick Aboagye
Agricultural Mechanization in Ghana Book PDF

Author : Nazaire Houssou,Xinshen Diao,Frances Cossar,Shashidhara Kolavalli,Kipo Jimah,Patrick Aboagye
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 24 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2013-03-29
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Agricultural Mechanization in Ghana by Nazaire Houssou,Xinshen Diao,Frances Cossar,Shashidhara Kolavalli,Kipo Jimah,Patrick Aboagye Pdf

Since 2007, the government of Ghana has been providing subsidized agricultural machines to private enterprises established as Agricultural Mechanization Services Enterprise Centers (AMSEC) to scale up tractor-hire services to smallholder farmers. Although farmer’s demand for mechanization has increased in recent years, most of this demand concentrates on land preparation (plowing) service. Using the firm investment model and recent data, this paper quantitatively assesses whether AMSEC as a private enterprise is a viable business model attractive to private investors. Even though the intention of the government is to promote private sector-led mechanization, findings suggest that the AMSEC model is unlikely to be a profitable business model attractive to private investors even with the current level of subsidy. The low tractor utilization rate as a result of low operational scale is the most important constraint to the intertemporal profitability of tractor-hire services. Our findings further support the argument of Pingali, Bigot, and Binswanger (1987), who indicated that mechanization service centers supported through government’s heavy subsidy are not a policy option anywhere in the world, even in the current situation in Ghana. Although the tractor rental service market is a proper way of mechanizing agriculture in a smallholder-dominated agricultural economy such as Ghana, this paper concludes that the development of such a market depends crucially on a number of factors, including increased tractor use through migration across the two very different rainfall zones (north and south), increased tractor use through multiple tasks, and use of low-cost tractors. The government can play an important role in facilitating the development of a tractor service market; however, the successful development of such a market depends on the incentive and innovation of the private sector, including farmers who want to own tractors as part of their business portfolio, traders who know how to bring in affordable tractors and expand the market, and manufacturers in exporting countries who want to seek a long-term potential market opportunity in Ghana and in other west African countries.

Can the private sector lead agricultural mechanization in Ghana?

Houssou, Nazaire,Diao, Xinshen,Kolavalli, Shashi
Can the private sector lead agricultural mechanization in Ghana Book PDF

Author : Houssou, Nazaire,Diao, Xinshen,Kolavalli, Shashi
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 4 pages
File Size : 48,9 Mb
Release : 2014-09-01
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Can the private sector lead agricultural mechanization in Ghana? by Houssou, Nazaire,Diao, Xinshen,Kolavalli, Shashi Pdf

Increasing agricultural mechanization has long been of interest to many African countries. Constrained by the limited area that can be cultivated through the use of the hand hoe and its association with perceptions of primitiveness and drudgery, agricultural mechanization and large-scale farming have long been a part of the vision of modernizing agriculture in many African countries, including Ghana.

An evolving paradigm of agricultural mechanization development: How much can Africa learn from Asia?

Diao, Xinshen, ed.,Takeshima, Hiroyuki. ed.,Zhang, Xiaobo, ed.
An evolving paradigm of agricultural mechanization development How much can Africa learn from Asia Book PDF

Author : Diao, Xinshen, ed.,Takeshima, Hiroyuki. ed.,Zhang, Xiaobo, ed.
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 548 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2020-12-07
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780896293809

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An evolving paradigm of agricultural mechanization development: How much can Africa learn from Asia? by Diao, Xinshen, ed.,Takeshima, Hiroyuki. ed.,Zhang, Xiaobo, ed. Pdf

Agricultural mechanization in Africa south of the Sahara — especially for small farms and businesses — requires a new paradigm to meet the needs of the continent’s evolving farming systems. Can Asia, with its recent success in adopting mechanization, offer a model for Africa? An Evolving Paradigm of Agricultural Mechanization Development analyzes the experiences of eight Asian and five African countries. The authors explore crucial government roles in boosting and supporting mechanization, from import policies to promotion policies to public good policies. Potential approaches presented to facilitating mechanization in Africa include prioritizing market-led hiring services, eliminating distortions, and developing appropriate technologies for the African context. The role of agricultural mechanization within overall agricultural and rural transformation strategies in Africa is also discussed. The book’s recommendations and insights should be useful to national policymakers and the development community, who can adapt this knowledge to local contexts and use it as a foundation for further research.

Agricultural mechanization

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Agricultural mechanization Book PDF

Author : Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher : Food & Agriculture Org.
Page : 55 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2018-07-25
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 9789251093818

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Agricultural mechanization by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Pdf

This paper is specifically about agricultural mechanisation: the opportunities provided by mechanisation for intensifying production in a sustainable manner, in value addition and agri-food value chain development, as well as the inherent opportunities implied for improved local economies and livelihoods. The establishment of viable business enterprises agro-processors, transport services, and so forth as a result of increased agricultural mechanisation in rural areas, is crucial to creating employment and income opportunities and, thereby, enhancing the demand for farm produce. Mechanisation plays a key role in enabling the growth of commercial agri-food systems and the efficiency of post-harvest handling, processing and marketing operations, and as such can be a major determinant in the availability and accessibility of food, the food prices paid by urban and rural poor, as well as contributing to increased household food security.

Ghana's Economic and Agricultural Transformation

Xinshen Diao,Peter Hazell,Shashidhara Kolavalli,Danielle Resnick
Ghana s Economic and Agricultural Transformation Book PDF

Author : Xinshen Diao,Peter Hazell,Shashidhara Kolavalli,Danielle Resnick
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 310 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2019
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780198845348

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Ghana's Economic and Agricultural Transformation by Xinshen Diao,Peter Hazell,Shashidhara Kolavalli,Danielle Resnick Pdf

Using Ghana as a case study, this work integrates economic and political analysis to explore the challenges and opportunities of Africa's growth and transformation.

The State of Food and Agriculture 2022

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
The State of Food and Agriculture 2022 Book PDF

Author : Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher : Food & Agriculture Org.
Page : 182 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2022-11-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9789251360439

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The State of Food and Agriculture 2022 by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Pdf

Automation has been shaping world agriculture since the early twentieth century. Motorized mechanization has brought significant benefits in terms of improved productivity, reduced drudgery and more efficient allocation of labour, but also some negative environmental impacts. More recently, a new generation of digital agricultural automation technologies has appeared, with the potential to further enhance productivity, as well as resilience, while also addressing the environmental sustainability challenges driven by past mechanization. The State of Food and Agriculture 2022 looks into the drivers of agricultural automation, including the more recent digital technologies. Based on 27 case studies, the report analyses the business case for adoption of digital automation technologies in different agricultural production systems across the world. It identifies several barriers preventing inclusive adoption of these technologies, particularly by small-scale producers. Key barriers are low digital literacy and lack of an enabling infrastructure, such as connectivity and access to electricity, in addition to financial constraints. Based on the analysis, the publication suggests policies to ensure that disadvantaged groups in developing regions can benefit from agricultural automation and that automation contributes to sustainable and resilient agrifood systems.

Farm transition and indigenous growth

Houssou, Nazaire,Chapoto, Anthony,Asante-Addo, Collins
Farm transition and indigenous growth Book PDF

Author : Houssou, Nazaire,Chapoto, Anthony,Asante-Addo, Collins
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 48 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2016-01-15
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Farm transition and indigenous growth by Houssou, Nazaire,Chapoto, Anthony,Asante-Addo, Collins Pdf

This paper characterizes the transition from small-scale farming and the drivers of farm size growth among medium- and large-scale farmers in Ghana. The research was designed to better understand the dynamics of change in Ghana’s farm structure and contribute to the debate on whether Africa should pursue a smallholder-based or large-scale oriented agricultural development strategy. The results suggest a rising number of medium-scale farmers and a declining number of smallholder farmers in the country, a pattern that is consistent with a changing farm structure in the country’s agricultural sector. More important, findings show that the rise to medium- and large-scale farming is significantly associated with successful transition of small-scale farmers rather than entry of medium or large farms into agriculture, reflecting small-scale farmers successfully breaking through the barriers of subsistence agriculture into more commercialized production systems. The findings in this paper also suggest that some of the factors thought to be important for change in farm structure are no obstacle to farm size growth, even though they may foster transition. Notably, the results here diverge from the patterns observed in Zambia and Kenya, which indicate that the emergent farmers came mostly from the urban elite. Unfortunately, past and current policy discussions have not featured these emergent farmers sufficiently in the quest to transform agriculture in Ghana. Government should capitalize on these emergent farmers who have a demonstrated ability to graduate productively as it strives to address challenges in the smallholder sector.

The Policy Landscape of Agricultural Water Management in Pakistan

Noora-Lisa Aberman,Benjamin Wielgosz,Fatima Zaidi,Claudia Ringler,Agha Ali Akram,Andrew Bell,Maikel Issermann
The Policy Landscape of Agricultural Water Management in Pakistan Book PDF

Author : Noora-Lisa Aberman,Benjamin Wielgosz,Fatima Zaidi,Claudia Ringler,Agha Ali Akram,Andrew Bell,Maikel Issermann
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 32 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2013-04-13
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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The Policy Landscape of Agricultural Water Management in Pakistan by Noora-Lisa Aberman,Benjamin Wielgosz,Fatima Zaidi,Claudia Ringler,Agha Ali Akram,Andrew Bell,Maikel Issermann Pdf

Irrigation is central to Pakistan’s agriculture; and managing the country’s canal, ground, and surface water resources in a more efficient, equitable, and sustainable way will be crucial to meeting agricultural production challenges, including increasing agricultural productivity and adapting to climate change. The water component of the International Food Policy Research Institute’s Pakistan Strategy Support Program (PSSP) is working to address these topics through high-quality research and policy engagement. As one of the first activities of this program, the PSSP undertook this assessment of the policy landscape for agricultural water management in Pakistan, to better understand how to engage with stakeholders in the landscape, and to assess possible opportunity points for improving water conservation. The authors use the Net-Map method, an interview tool that combines stakeholder mapping, power mapping, and social network analysis, to examine the relationships between various institutions influencing the water sector in Pakistan. Group interviews were conducted with national stakeholders in Islamabad and with provincial stakeholders in Lahore to establish separate influence maps at the different scales. Interviewees were asked about four types of network relationships: formal authority, informal pressure, technical information, and funding. Network data was analyzed using social network analysis software and notes from interviews add further depth to the network observations. Concluding discussion focuses on the distribution of power and influence in the network and on the opportunities and challenges of recent governance reforms and implications for stakeholder engagement.

The Impact of Oportunidades on Human Capital and Income Distribution

Dario Debowicz,Jennifer Golan
The Impact of Oportunidades on Human Capital and Income Distribution Book PDF

Author : Dario Debowicz,Jennifer Golan
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 44 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2013-04-05
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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The Impact of Oportunidades on Human Capital and Income Distribution by Dario Debowicz,Jennifer Golan Pdf

In an effort to inform social policy in Mexico, this paper analyzes the effects of a major social program on school attendance and household income distribution, accounting for its partial and general equilibrium effects. Linking a microeconometric simulation model and a general equilibrium model in a bidirectional way, the paper explicitly takes spillover effects of the Oportunidades conditional cash transfer program into account. Our results suggest that partial equilibrium analysis alone may underestimate the distributional effects of the program. Extending the coverage of the program leads to a significant increase in school attendance, which reduces labor supply and increases the equilibrium wages of the children who remain at work. This general equilibrium effect indirectly reduces income inequality and poverty at the national level.

Filling the learning gap in program implementation using participatory monitoring and evaluation

Elias Zerfu,Sindu W. Kebede
Filling the learning gap in program implementation using participatory monitoring and evaluation Book PDF

Author : Elias Zerfu,Sindu W. Kebede
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 44 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2013-03-29
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Filling the learning gap in program implementation using participatory monitoring and evaluation by Elias Zerfu,Sindu W. Kebede Pdf

This study is motivated by the idea that even though participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) is widely accepted as a tool to manage development programs to be effective, its application is widely constrained by its high start-up resource requirements in terms of both finance and time. However, this paper argues that after the initial investment is made, the payback from using PM&E is much higher both in terms of grassroots-level learning, empowerment, and capacity building and in terms of higher-level strategic decision making which enhances impact. This is demonstrated using field-level experience of implementing PM&E in farmer field schools (FFSs) under the Agricultural Services Support Program and Agricultural Sector Development Program–Livestock (ASSP/ASDP-L) program in Zanzibar, Tanzania. After describing the major steps followed in designing and implementing a PM&E for FFSs, the major lessons learned and challenges faced in the process are discussed. The study found out that PM&E has enabled the tracking of technology uptake and reasons behind adoption and nonadoption of technologies through detailed data collection. This informed and improved decision making at a higher level to design feasible methods to scale up adoption at other FFSs and to devise solutions for nonadoption. The need for incentives to undertake PM&E was found to be one of the major challenges of implementation, among others.

Who Talks to Whom in African Agricultural Research Information Networks?

Klaus Droppelmann,Mariam A. T. J. Mapila,John Mazunda,Paul Thangata,Jason Yauney
Who Talks to Whom in African Agricultural Research Information Networks Book PDF

Author : Klaus Droppelmann,Mariam A. T. J. Mapila,John Mazunda,Paul Thangata,Jason Yauney
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 24 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2013-04-17
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Who Talks to Whom in African Agricultural Research Information Networks? by Klaus Droppelmann,Mariam A. T. J. Mapila,John Mazunda,Paul Thangata,Jason Yauney Pdf

The sector-wide approach currently dominates as the strategy for developing the agricultural sector of many African countries. Although it is recognized that agricultural research plays a vital role in ensuring success of sectorwide agricultural development strategies, there has been little or no effort to explicitly link the research strategies of the National Agricultural Research System (NARS) in African countries to the research agenda that is articulated in sectorwide agricultural development strategies. This study fills that gap by analyzing the readiness of Malawi’s NARS to respond to the research needs of the national agricultural sector development strategy, namely the Agriculture Sector Wide Approach (ASWAp) program. Results of a social network analysis demonstrate that public agricultural research departments play a central coordinating role in facilitating information sharing, with other actors remaining on the periphery. However, that analysis also shows the important role other actors play in relaying information to a wider network of stakeholders. These secondary information pathways can play a crucial role in ensuring successful implementation of the national agricultural research agenda. Policymakers and managers of public research programs are called upon to integrate other research actors into the mainstream national agricultural research information network. This is vital as other research actors are, at the global level, increasingly taking up a greater role in financing and disseminating research and research results, and in enhancing the scaling up and out of new agricultural technologies.

Data Needs for Gender Analysis in Agriculture

Cheryl Doss
Data Needs for Gender Analysis in Agriculture Book PDF

Author : Cheryl Doss
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 22 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2013-04-05
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Data Needs for Gender Analysis in Agriculture by Cheryl Doss Pdf

To support gender analysis in agriculture, household surveys should be better designed to capture gender-specific control and ownership of agricultural resources such as male-owned, female-owned, and jointly owned assets. This paper offers guidelines on how to improve data collection efforts to ensure that women farmers are interviewed and that their voices are heard. Researchers need to clarify who should be interviewed, how to structure the interview, and how to identify which people are involved in various activities, as owners, managers, workers, and decisionmakers. It is important not simply to assume that one particular person does these activities based on social norms, but instead to ask the questions to allow for a range of answers that can demonstrate how the gender patterns in agriculture are changing. To assist in these efforts, the paper provides an overview of relevant questions to include, emphasizing that whenever questions are asked about ownership and access to resources, answers should be associated with individuals. Finally, collecting data on the institutions that are related to agricultural production and marketing allows analysis of the gender-based constraints and opportunities that they present.

Assessing the effectiveness of multistakeholder platforms

Thaddée Badibanga,Catherine Ragasa,John Ulimwengu
Assessing the effectiveness of multistakeholder platforms Book PDF

Author : Thaddée Badibanga,Catherine Ragasa,John Ulimwengu
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 32 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2013-04-05
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Assessing the effectiveness of multistakeholder platforms by Thaddée Badibanga,Catherine Ragasa,John Ulimwengu Pdf

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of local-level (territory) multistakeholder platforms using data from 55 CARGs in 23 randomly selected territories in three provinces (Bandundu, Bas-Congo, and Kinshasa) of the DRC. The first CARG was established in 2008, and the survey was conducted three years later, from August to October 2011.

Typology of Farm Households and Irrigation Systems

Hiroyuki Takeshima,Hyacinth Edeh
Typology of Farm Households and Irrigation Systems Book PDF

Author : Hiroyuki Takeshima,Hyacinth Edeh
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 36 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2013-04-25
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Typology of Farm Households and Irrigation Systems by Hiroyuki Takeshima,Hyacinth Edeh Pdf

Irrigation is considered an important factor for agriculture and food security. Knowledge gaps, however, still exist with regard to how farmers in Africa south of Sahara, including Nigeria, are using irrigation. Given the diverse agroecological and socioeconomic environment in countries like Nigeria, understanding the diverse patterns of irrigation use and their associations with household characteristics is important in designing how irrigation can contribute to the agricultural transformation. This report summarizes the typology of farm households and irrigators in Nigeria. We apply a cluster analysis method to the Living Standard Measurement Survey (LSMS)—Integrated Survey on Agriculture data and various secondary data. We also compare the costs and inputs used across different irrigation crops, as reported in Nigeria. Findings indicate that the three major irrigation systems in Nigeria are (1) labor-intensive diverted stream irrigation of rice, (2) supplementary irrigation of coarse grains and legumes using groundwater, and (3) dry season irrigation of vegetables. Each crop is irrigated during a specific season and using a specific water source and irrigation system. Farmers’ choice of irrigation system tends to depend on many factors. For example, in the South, tractorization is often a necessary precondition for rice irrigation. In the North, intensive irrigation of rice and vegetables may make sense only if labor is cheap, whereas irrigation of sorghum and legumes is supplementary and may not affect farm households’ behaviors. Although more rigorous studies are needed in the future, observed patterns of irrigation use in Nigeria indicate that the policies aiming to raise agricultural productivity and to develop the value chains of key crops may need to be based on an understanding of why irrigation is used in specific ways in different systems and of what the key constraints in scaling up such systems in other locations are.