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Determinants of farm diversification in integrated crop–livestock farming systems in Ghana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2017

Bright O. Asante ,
Renato A. Villano ,
Ian W. Patrick  and
George E. Battese
Bright O. Asante*
Affiliation:
CSIR-Crops Research Institute, Kumasi, Ghana. UNE Business School, University of New England Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.
Renato A. Villano
Affiliation:
UNE Business School, University of New England Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.
Ian W. Patrick
Affiliation:
Institute for Rural Futures, School of Behavioral, Cognitive and Social Sciences, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.
George E. Battese
Affiliation:
UNE Business School, University of New England Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.
*
*Corresponding author: basante@myune.edu.au or basante.csir_cri@yahoo.co.uk
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Abstract

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.

Keywords

agricultural diversificationintegrated crop–livestock farming systemCragg two-step modelGhana
Type
Research Papers
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 33 , Issue 2 , April 2018 , pp. 131 - 149
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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