Economic Impact of Mutant Cassava (Manihot Species) for Agricultural Improvement in Ghana

Abstract

Abstract:The importance of agricultural innovations for raising the living standards of farmers has received substantial attention from the economic and political communities. In Ghana, cassava serves as an important source of calorie and cash crop. Production constraints such as the cassava mosaic disease caused by virus have limit farmers access to productivity potentials and marketing. Breeding efforts attempting to address this constraints have had some success such as the mutant Tech Bankye virus resistant variety. This research, therefore, analysed the impact of some production input on mutant cassava productivity growth in Ghana with the use of Cobb-Douglas production function. Results show that farmers cultivate the mutant variety in addition to other traditional varieties to averse risking in marketing and income. The average cost of production of the mutant variety is higher compared to that of the traditional variety. Eighty percent of the farmers complained difficulty in accessing market for the mutant variety because it could not replace the traditional variety in terms of its texture for the local native "fufu" production and "ampesi" and also deteriorate quickly in storage. However, for industrial production of "gari" and starch, the mutant is the best. Both the mutant cassava and the traditional varieties showed increasing returns to scale, however, the returns to scale of the mutant variety were lower compared to that of the traditional variety. Also, the opportunity cost of forgoing the traditional varieties to cultivating the mutant variety was very high making adopted farmers hesitant to continue it cultivation.