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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of agricultural credit rationing by formal lenders in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach -This study employed descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Heckman's two-stage regression model to identify types of rationing faced by farmers and investigate factors that influence agricultural credit rationing by formal financial institutions. Data used in this study are gathered through a survey of 595 farmers in seven districts within Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. Findings -The result reveals that farmers face three types of rationing. Evidence from the Heckman two-stage models shows that engagement in off farm income generating activities, increase in farm size, positive balances on accounts and commercial orientation of the farmers has the potential to reduce rationing of credit applicants by formal lenders. Practical implications -The results provide information on the factors that need to be considered as important in an attempt to reduce agricultural credit rationing by formal lenders. Originality/value -The value of this study is that farmers would use the results of this study to improve access to required amount of agricultural credit from formal financial institutions. The information would also benefit stakeholders in the agricultural sector, particularly youth in agriculture program organized by Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Ghana as how to improve access to credit and reduce rationing of program participants by formal financial institutions.

Th is study considers the meta-frontier technique to compare the effi ciency level of organic and conventional cocoa production systems in Ghana using a cross sectional data of 390 farms. Th e results reveal that the organic systems exhibit an increasing return to scale whilst, the conventional system exhibit decreasing returns to scale. All the inputs variables positively infl uence the production except the age of trees. Th e combined eff ects of operational and farm specifi c factors are identifi ed to infl uence the technical effi ciency although the individual eff ects of some variables are not signifi cant. Th e mean technical effi ciency relative to the meta-frontier is estimated to be 0.59 for the organic and 0.71 for the conventional farms. Th e study concludes that the conventional system of cocoa production is more technically effi cient than the organic system. However, the increase in the scale of production in the organic system to take advantage of the economies of scale may enhance the effi ciency of production.

This study examined the adaptation strategies of maize farmers to climate change and variability in the Eastern Region of Ghana using primary data collected from 150 maize farming households by the administration of structured questionnaires. The results of the multinomial logit regression revealed that rainfall perception, access to credit, and farming experience significantly influenced the adoption of recommended agricultural practices, whereas the adoption of soil-related strategies is influenced by gender and rainfall perception. Farming experience and rainfall perception influenced the adoption of improved varieties strategies. This study highlights the need for the development of water resources for maize production in the context of the changing climate. In this respect, the crucial roles of the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority, the agricultural extension division of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, and other international organizations such as the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the World Bank regarding the development of irrigation facilities and the associated capacity building of the farmers are very important. Finally, the formation of Water User Associations for the smallholder farmers regarding the usage and maintenance of the irrigation facilities would be a step in the right direction.

The repeated failure to design and appropriately target policies and interventions which address the needs of rural peoples in Africa suggests that something may be wrong with our understanding of the way that these peoples live their lives. Perspectives which focus on intra-household processes, and on gender issues in particular, represent useful advances in the way that the social and economic lives of Africa's rural peoples are conceptualized. However, this article questions the value of adopting development planning, policy and project approaches based on the rigid identi®cation of`gender roles'. By reference to ®eld research undertaken in northern Ghana, the paper aims to demonstrate that other social constructs, such as marital status and seniority, may be as important as gender in determining the roles and status of individuals in African rural societies. The article concludes by highlighting a number of practical implications of this ®nding in terms of the structuring of development-oriented research and the targeting of policy and interventions.In recent years, a number of widely-held assumptions relating to the role of the household in African rural societies have been critically re-assessed (see, for example, Alderman