Groundnut (peanut) is an important food and oil crop in Ghana, but little is known about the factors influencing consumption. The study surveyed market participants; investigated the frequency and forms of groundnut consumed; and evaluated the factors influencing consumers’ decisions to eat groundnuts in Ghana. About 80% of respondents consume groundnut and/or its products at least once a week and 32.0% consume it three times a week. Logistic models showed that age, education and the form in which groundnuts are consumed influence the frequency of groundnut consumption. Total revenue and the form in which groundnut is eaten influence farmers consumption decision whereas groundnut consumption by poultry farmers is influenced by knowledge of the health effects of groundnuts on birds and the form in which groundnut is eaten by the poultry producers. Processors’ frequency of consumption is influenced by the form in which groundnut is consumed and their knowledge of reasons for sorting. The results are important for market segmentation for demand projection along the marketing chain.
Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important source of protein and fat in Ghana and other developing countries. However, peanut is often contaminated with aflatoxin because of poor storage conditions. One possible approach to minimizing human consumption of aflatoxin is to sort and remove contaminated nuts at various stages of marketing. Logistic regression models were used to investigate factors influencing market participants' decision to sort peanut before processing and consumption. Results show that farmers' decision to sort peanut before consumption was influenced by gender, education, age, number of dependents assisting, knowledge of health problems associated with consuming aflatoxin contaminated peanut, total revenue per hectare of peanut, and the form in which the peanut is consumed. Livestock owners' decision to sort before consumption was influenced by education and the form in which the peanut is consumed. The level of education of consumers, and the form in which the peanut is consumed influenced consumers' decision to sort peanut. Farmers' decision to sort peanut before processing into paste was influenced by the number of dependents assisting in household labor activities, the revenue from peanut and the form in which the peanut is consumed. The form in which the peanut is consumed and knowledge of the health effects of aflatoxin influenced livestock owner's, retailer's, and consumer's decision to sort peanut before processing into paste. Processors' decision to sort before conversion into paste was influenced by education, knowledge of the reasons for sorting and the form in which peanut is consumed.
Although it is well documented that immigrants maintain economic and social ties with their communities of origin through remittances, the role of remittances in asset acquisition for most African countries is yet to be documented. This study provides empirical estimates for the impact of remittances from abroad on housing construction demand in Kenya using time series data for the period 1970-2008. An autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) modelling process is employed to capture the effect of remittances and other variables on housing construction demand. The computed short-and long-run elasticities indicate that inbound remittances are one of the determinants of housing construction demand in Kenya. Other significant determinants include income, interest rates and urbanization growth.
Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) have been advocated as one way of securing trade liberalization by the IMF and World Bank. The study uses the gravity model of bilateral trade flows to empirically investigate the effects of RTAs on intraregional trade on a set of 46 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries during 1995-2011 period. Our results indicate that three of the four selected RTAs have positive and statistically significant effect on the trade among the sub-Saharan African countries. Other included variables including distance, common language, shared border, shared colonial links, and common currency are found to be important determinants of trade among SSA countries.
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