Migrants and non-migrants' welfare on cocoa farms in Ghana: Multidimensional poverty index approach

Abstract

PurposeThe study assessed welfare of migrant and non-migrant labourers on cocoa farms in Ghana, using multidimensional poverty index (MPI) with four dimensions (education, health, dietary diversity, living standards) and 21 indicators. Specifically, we examined and compared non-monetary welfare of migrant and non-migrant labourers on cocoa farms in Ghana by adopting MPI approach. Also, we explored the factors affecting labourers' welfare.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 400 labourers was used. Qualitative and quantitative data were used. Quantile regression was used to investigate factors affecting labourers' deprivation in the different domains of non-monetary welfare.FindingsLabourers on cocoa farms are generally deprived in all the welfare indicators. Apart from having low education, labourers were underfed and lived under poor conditions. Though both migrants and non-migrants were multidimensionally poor, welfare of the later was higher than the former. Welfare of migrants and non-migrants on cocoa farms are influenced by similar factors: secondary occupation, income, credit accessibility, nature of contract and distance to social amenities.Research limitations/implicationsFor migrants, permanent status improves welfare. To improve labourers' welfare for enhanced productivity, cocoa farmers should provide permanent/long-term contracts for labourers and government should provide social amenities in cocoa-producing communities.Originality/valueMost previous welfare studies focused on farmers, with little attention paid to welfare of labourers on cocoa farms. We examined and compared the factors that affect migrant and non-migrant labourers' welfare on cocoa farms in Ghana. Moreover, we adopted the MPI (non-monetary) approach to assess labourers' welfare, instead of the expenditure and income approaches prevalent in literature.

Nijerya'da geleneksel balıkçılık yapan çiftçilerin refah düzeyleri: Etkili faktörler ve sorunlar

“…This could be because external funding serves as a means of increasing farmers' investment and adoption of technology (Akanbi et al, 2022;Falola et al, 2022b). This supports the findings of Amfo et al (2022) that access to credit access enhances welfare. The household size of the farmers is negatively related to their welfare status (P < 0.01).…”

“…Thus, those that earned higher income from other businesses had better welfare than their counterpart, ceteris paribus. This supports Amfo et al (2022) that income diversification improves peoples' welfare. Access to credit had a positive influence on artisanal fish farmers' welfare status (P < 0.05).…”

Linkage between working conditions and wellbeing: Insight from migrant and native farmhands on Ghana's cocoa farms

“…Cocoa production contributes immensely to Ghana's economy [ 1 , 2 ]. However, it is mainly on small scale and highly labour-intensive [ 3 , 4 ]. Smallholder cocoa farmers, who form the majority, have low financial capacities to hire the required labour [ 5 , 6 ].…”

“…Smallholder cocoa farmers, who form the majority, have low financial capacities to hire the required labour [ 5 , 6 ]. Therefore, most cocoa farmers use cheaper sources of labour like migrant, child and family labour [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]. Labour issues in cocoa production have been pertinent since colonial era and have since been linked to migratory labour [ 7 , 8 ].…”

“…There could be employment discrimination as migrant workers could be the only labour employed in situations where the safety conditions are so poor [ 14 ]. Labour migration may present threats to migrants’ health since certain jobs expose them to workplace injuries and diseases [ 3 , 5 , 7 ].…”