Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine women farmers' access to credit from rural banks (RBs) in the Upper East region of Ghana. The paper examines the nature of credit supply by the RBs to their customers and the proportion that goes to women over a ten year period. It proposes the modelling of socio-economic, technical and institutional factors influencing women farmers' access to credit from financial institutions in general and rural banks (RBs) in particular. The paper aims to expand the frontiers of rural and agricultural financing as well as the integration of gender interest in the financial sectors of developing countries. Design/methodology/approach -In total, 200 women farmers were randomly selected and information on socio-economic, technical and institutional issues solicited from them. Ratio analyses were carried out and the logistic regression used to model the socio-economic, technical and institutional factors that have influence on access to credit from RBs by women farmers. Findings -The paper provides empirical evidence of close gender parity in terms of credit supply by RBs in Ghana. About 44 per cent of the credit portfolios of RBs in Ghana go to women and the remaining 56 per cent goes to men. Education, application procedures, access to land, income level, farm size, membership to economic associations, savings, type of crop grown, interest rate and distance to RBs are the socio-economic, technical and institutional factors that influence women farmers' access to credit. Research limitations/implications -The paper is limited to only women farmers. There is the need for further research that considers men and women so as to establish whether or not there is gender insensitivity by financial institutions in Ghana and other developing countries. Practical implications -This paper provides empirical implications for the development of a vibrant financial sector in developing countries that provide equal access to men and women, rural and urban dwellers as well as actors in the formal and informal sectors. Originality/value -This paper brings to light the issues of access to productive resources such as production credit by women in developing countries, particularly Ghana.

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to assess the adherence, constraints and key factors associated with smallholder pineapple farmers' compliance with Global working group for Good Agricultural Practice (GLOBALGAP) standards in the Akuapem-South Municipal area, Ghana. It utilizes the modeling of socio-economic, farm, market and institutional factors influencing smallholder farmers' compliance with GLOBALGAP standards. This paper aims to enhance smallholder farmers' compliance with food safety standards in particular GLOBALGAP so they can continue to participate in international food trade. Design/methodology/approach -The study uses mainly primary data solicited from 150 randomly selected smallholder farmers. Descriptive statistics are employed in estimating compliant farmers' rate of adherence with standards requirements and identifying constraints of farmers while a probit regression model is used to determine the factors influencing GLOBALGAP compliance decision of farmers. Findings -Findings of the study show that compliant farmers' rate of adherence with the standard is about 90 percent and this is below the minor musts compliance criteria of 95 percent. The results also indicate that lack of access to farm credits, high cost of farm inputs and high cost of labor are the major constraints to GLOBALGAP compliance. Factors found to positively influence farmers' compliance decision are number of pineapple farms, access to off-farm income, access to market information and extension services. However, compliance is negatively influenced by age. Research limitations/implications -Majority of Ghanaian smallholder pineapple farmers are not GLOBALGAP certified. The study was limited to Akuapem-South because most farmers produce pineapple for the export market and are certified under the Option II GLOBALGAP group certification. Originality/value -This paper brings to bear issues confronting food safety standards compliance among smallholder farmers in developing countries, particularly Ghana.

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Credit is an effective tool that can be used to turn life around for a person, a family or transform self-image, unlock potential and boost the productivity and well-being of the poor. This paper examines the extent of women farmers' access to credit from Rural Banks (RBs) in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Data were collected from randomly sampled 200 women farmers from four districts and from the archives of the RBs in the region. Semi-structured questionnaire, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were used for data collection. Growth rates of credit supplies and factors influencing women farmers' credit access were estimated. The results of the empirical study revealed that the growth rate of credit supply by the RBs from 1998 to 2007 was about 18 percent per annum. Besides, credit supply to women grew at a lesser rate (18%) than that of men (19%) during the period. Factors influencing women farmers' extent of credit access were found to be age, interest rates, farm size, association membership and formal education, among others. Hence, it is recommended that credit supply to women should be improved if the MDGs, particularly those on poverty and hunger reduction as well as gender equality and empowerment are to be attained.