Saa Dittoh

Small pumps and the poor: a field survey in the Upper East Region of Ghana

Despite public-sector attempts at developing irrigation, most smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana still rely on manual methods to irrigate dry-season vegetables on small acreages. A field survey was carried out to ascertain the potential of motorized pumps in irrigated agriculture in the region. The findings indicate that use of pumps is far more beneficial than other irrigation methods, and rainfed farming in general, and irrigators generally regard their pumps as “saviours”. The major problem for the majority of farmers is the lack of financial means to purchase the pumps.

Promoting sustainable agriculture in Africa through ecosystem-based farm management practices: evidence from Ghana

BackgroundThe type of farming practices employed within an agro-ecosystem have some effects on its health and sustainable agricultural production. Thus, it is important to encourage farmers to make use of ecosystem-friendly farming practices if agricultural production is to be sustainable and this requires the identification of the critical success factors. This paper therefore examined the factors to consider in promoting sustainable agriculture production in Africa through ecosystem-based farm management practices (EBFMPs) using Ghana as a case study. The study employed mixed methods—qualitative and quantitative techniques. Data were collected through key informant interviews, focus group discussions and a semi-structured questionnaire administered to 300 households. The Poisson and negative binomial models were employed to determine the factors that influence farmers’ intensity of adoption of EBFMPs. Eight (8) EBFMPs were used in the paper as the dependent variable, which are organic manure application, conservation of vegetation, conservative tillage, mulching, crop rotation, intercropping with legumes, efficient drainage system and soil bunding.ResultsThe paper found that the intensity of adoption of EBFMPs is significantly determined by the age of farmers, distance to farms, perception of soil fertility, knowledge of EBFMPs, number of extension visits and the type of irrigation scheme available to farmers.ConclusionsTo promote sustainable agricultural production in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa using EBFMBs, these factors must be considered.