Agricultural extension and its effects on farm productivity and income: insight from Northern Ghana

Abstract

Background: In agricultural-dependent economies, extension programmes have been the main conduit for disseminating information on farm technologies, support rural adult learning and assist farmers in developing their farm technical and managerial skills. It is expected that extension programmes will help increase farm productivity, farm revenue, reduce poverty and minimize food insecurity. In this study, we estimate the effects of extension services on farm productivity and income with particular reference to agricultural extension services delivered by Association of Church-based Development NGOs (ACDEP). Methods: The study used cross-sectional data collected from 200 farm households from two districts in the Northern region of Ghana. The robustness of the estimates was tested by the use of regression on covariates, regression on propensity scores and Heckman treatment effect model. Results: The study found positive economic gains from participating in the ACDEP agricultural extension programmes. Apart from the primary variable of interest (ACDEP agricultural extension programme), socioeconomic , institutional and farm-specific variables were estimated to significantly affect farmers' farm income depending on the estimation technique used. Conclusions: The study has reaffirmed the critical role of extension programmes in enhancing farm productivity and household income. It is, therefore, recommended that agricultural extension service delivery should be boosted through timely recruitment, periodic training of agents and provision of adequate logistics.

Technology adoption and technical efficiency of smallholder farmers in Tolon district of Ghana: double bootstrap DEA approach

“…Contrary to a priori expectation, the frequency of agricultural extension has a significant negative influence on technical efficiency. As emphasized by many previous and recent empirical studies (Evenson 2001, Gautam 2001, Abdulai et al 2017, Danso-Abbeam et al 2018, agricultural extension service is a critical avenue for disseminating information on production technologies, which in turn, spur productivity in smallholder farming system. The negative influence of extension services could be because farmers did not receive the right information at the right time regarding maize production.…”

The role of agriculture in reducing child undernutrition in Nigeria

“…Human capital has also been identified as contributing beneficially to several pathways between agricultural productivity and improved nutrition, while also playing significant role in improving agricultural productivity. Enhancing farmers' knowledge and their exposure to technological innovations through training is a key input to improving agricultural productivity (Asfaw and Admassie 2004;Reimers and Klasen 2012;Danso-Abbeam et al 2018;Mariyono 2019;Anang et al 2020). Education may not only influence the decision of farmers to adopt new agricultural technology, but also affect their farming creativeness, innovative ability, and technical efficiency.…”

Farm household access to agricultural services in northern Ghana

“…In a recent study in Ghana, Anang et al (2020) showed that access to agricultural extension enhanced technology adoption and farm income of peasant farmers. Access to agricultural extension improved technology adoption by farm households (Wossen et al, 2017;Ghimire et al, 2015;Asfaw et al, 2012) as well as household income (Danso-Abbeam et al, 2018;Gebrehiwot, 2015;Davis et al, 2012). Agricultural extension agents train farmers on modern production practices and introduce them to innovative ways of farming to enhance productivity.…”