Meeting Ghanaian Farmers Demand For A Full Range Of Mechanization Services


Meeting Ghanaian Farmers Demand For A Full Range Of Mechanization Services
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Meeting Ghanaian Farmers Demand For A Full Range Of Mechanization Services


Meeting Ghanaian Farmers Demand For A Full Range Of Mechanization Services
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Author : Houssou, Nazaire
language : en
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Release Date : 2016-10-14

Meeting Ghanaian Farmers Demand For A Full Range Of Mechanization Services written by Houssou, Nazaire and has been published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016-10-14 with Political Science categories.


Rising labor costs associated with increased rural-to-urban migration have compelled Ghanaian farmers to increase the use of tractors and other agricultural machines to conduct farming operations in the country (Diao et al. 2014). The adoption of these mechanical technologies is consistent with the tendency among Ghanaian farmers to save labor, rather than embrace practices that create additional labor needs (Houssou et al. 2016). Tractor use is concentrated on plowing and other tillage operations primarily (Houssou et al. 2013), but the supply of tractor services is inadequate. Earlier research estimated that plowing services represent 90 percent of the revenues of tractor service providers (Houssou et al. 2013). Both public and private supply of plowing services may have contributed to an expan-sion of the area under cultivation in Ghana, thereby exacerbat-ing labor bottlenecks in post-tillage field operations for many farmers.



Agricultural Mechanization In Ghana Is Specialization In Agricultural Mechanization A Viable Business Model


Agricultural Mechanization In Ghana Is Specialization In Agricultural Mechanization A Viable Business Model
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Author : Houssou, Nazaire
language : en
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Release Date :

Agricultural Mechanization In Ghana Is Specialization In Agricultural Mechanization A Viable Business Model written by Houssou, Nazaire and has been published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on with Social Science categories.


Since 2007, the government of Ghana has been providing subsidized agricultural machines to private enterprises established as Agricultural Mechanization Services Enterprise Centers (AMSEC) to scale up tractor-hire services to smallholder farmers. Although farmer’s demand for mechanization has increased in recent years, most of this demand concentrates on land preparation (plowing) service. Using the firm investment model and recent data, this paper quantitatively assesses whether AMSEC as a private enterprise is a viable business model attractive to private investors. Even though the intention of the government is to promote private sector-led mechanization, findings suggest that the AMSEC model is unlikely to be a profitable business model attractive to private investors even with the current level of subsidy. The low tractor utilization rate as a result of low operational scale is the most important constraint to the intertemporal profitability of tractor-hire services. Our findings further support the argument of Pingali, Bigot, and Binswanger (1987), who indicated that mechanization service centers supported through government’s heavy subsidy are not a policy option anywhere in the world, even in the current situation in Ghana. Although the tractor rental service market is a proper way of mechanizing agriculture in a smallholder-dominated agricultural economy such as Ghana, this paper concludes that the development of such a market depends crucially on a number of factors, including increased tractor use through migration across the two very different rainfall zones (north and south), increased tractor use through multiple tasks, and use of low-cost tractors. The government can play an important role in facilitating the development of a tractor service market; however, the successful development of such a market depends on the incentive and innovation of the private sector, including farmers who want to own tractors as part of their business portfolio, traders who know how to bring in affordable tractors and expand the market, and manufacturers in exporting countries who want to seek a long-term potential market opportunity in Ghana and in other west African countries.



Agricultural Mechanization In Ghana


Agricultural Mechanization In Ghana
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Author : Nazaire Houssou
language : en
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Release Date : 2013-03-29

Agricultural Mechanization In Ghana written by Nazaire Houssou and has been published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2013-03-29 with Social Science categories.


Since 2007, the government of Ghana has been providing subsidized agricultural machines to private enterprises established as Agricultural Mechanization Services Enterprise Centers (AMSEC) to scale up tractor-hire services to smallholder farmers. Although farmer’s demand for mechanization has increased in recent years, most of this demand concentrates on land preparation (plowing) service. Using the firm investment model and recent data, this paper quantitatively assesses whether AMSEC as a private enterprise is a viable business model attractive to private investors. Even though the intention of the government is to promote private sector-led mechanization, findings suggest that the AMSEC model is unlikely to be a profitable business model attractive to private investors even with the current level of subsidy. The low tractor utilization rate as a result of low operational scale is the most important constraint to the intertemporal profitability of tractor-hire services. Our findings further support the argument of Pingali, Bigot, and Binswanger (1987), who indicated that mechanization service centers supported through government’s heavy subsidy are not a policy option anywhere in the world, even in the current situation in Ghana. Although the tractor rental service market is a proper way of mechanizing agriculture in a smallholder-dominated agricultural economy such as Ghana, this paper concludes that the development of such a market depends crucially on a number of factors, including increased tractor use through migration across the two very different rainfall zones (north and south), increased tractor use through multiple tasks, and use of low-cost tractors. The government can play an important role in facilitating the development of a tractor service market; however, the successful development of such a market depends on the incentive and innovation of the private sector, including farmers who want to own tractors as part of their business portfolio, traders who know how to bring in affordable tractors and expand the market, and manufacturers in exporting countries who want to seek a long-term potential market opportunity in Ghana and in other west African countries.



Medium And Large Scale Farmers And Agricultural Mechanization In Ghana


Medium And Large Scale Farmers And Agricultural Mechanization In Ghana
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Author : Chapoto, Antony
language : en
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Release Date : 2014-06-27

Medium And Large Scale Farmers And Agricultural Mechanization In Ghana written by Chapoto, Antony and has been published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2014-06-27 with Social Science categories.


The survey was aimed at characterizing the transition of smallholder farmers who have become medium- and large-scale commercial farmers in Ghana, assessing agricultural machinery ownership, and patterns of demand for agricultural mechanization among farmers in the country. The data generated from the survey will answer some of the critical questions pertaining to agricultural transformation in the country.



Agricultural Mechanization In Ghana Insights From A Recent Field Study


Agricultural Mechanization In Ghana Insights From A Recent Field Study
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Author : Diao, Xinshen
language : en
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Release Date :

Agricultural Mechanization In Ghana Insights From A Recent Field Study written by Diao, Xinshen and has been published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on with Political Science categories.


Ghana is one of a few African countries where agricultural mechanization has recently undergone rapid development. Except for places in the forest zone where stumps are still an issue in fields, tractors used for plowing and maize shelling have been widely adopted even among small farmers. Medium- and large-scale farmers who own tractors provide the majority of mechanization services. Recognizing this fundamental fact is important for designing any effective mechanization policy, which should aim at the entire service market instead of targeting a selected group of service providers as beneficiaries. Tractor owners and operators are often discouraged from traveling long distances to plow only a few acres for individual small farmers, which becomes a considerable barrier for smallholders to access tractor services on time. This requires the government consider mechanisms to improve coordination among small farmers and to encourage Farmer Based Organizations (FBOs) to facilitate such coordination. The use of harrowing or second-plowing has been shown as a productivity-enhancing farming practice but it is currently under-demanded by farmers. A pilot program to address the coordination failures and to nudge small farmers to adopt harrowing services together can be considered.



Agricultural Intensification Technology Adoption And Institutions In Ghana


Agricultural Intensification Technology Adoption And Institutions In Ghana
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Author : Houssou, Nazaire
language : en
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Release Date : 2016-10-14

Agricultural Intensification Technology Adoption And Institutions In Ghana written by Houssou, Nazaire and has been published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016-10-14 with Political Science categories.


Agricultural intensification has only taken off to a very limited extent in Ghana. Adoption of land productivity-enhancing technology is low, even in areas with proximity to urban markets. Rather, farmers have increasingly been adopting labor-saving technologies such as herbicides and mechanization, for which vibrant private supply channels are emerging. Further efforts to strengthen the private mechanization supply chain would help meet the rising demand for tractor services. Furthermore, mechanization could also help free up agricultural labor to perform other more labor intensive tasks.



Geography Of Smallholders Tractor Adoptions And R D Induced Land Productivity Evidence From Household Survey Data In Ghana


Geography Of Smallholders Tractor Adoptions And R D Induced Land Productivity Evidence From Household Survey Data In Ghana
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Author : Hiroyuki Takeshima
language : en
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Release Date : 2019-10-10

Geography Of Smallholders Tractor Adoptions And R D Induced Land Productivity Evidence From Household Survey Data In Ghana written by Hiroyuki Takeshima and has been published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2019-10-10 with Political Science categories.


Despite the urbanization and gradual rise of medium-to-large scale farming sector, smallholders without substantial mechanization remain central to agriculture in countries like Ghana. Significant knowledge gaps exist on the adoptions of agricultural mechanization among smallholders for whom the scope for exploiting complementarity with land is limited. We test the hypotheses that high-yielding technologies, which potentially raise total factor productivity and also returns to more intensive farm power use, are important drivers of adoptions of agricultural mechanization among smallholders. Using the three rounds of repeated crosssectional, nationally representative data (Ghana Living Standard Surveys 2006, 2013, 2017), as well as unique tractor-use data in Ghana, and multi-dimensional indicators of agroclimatic similarity with plant- reeding locations, this paper shows that the adoption of rented agricultural equipment and tractors in Ghana has been induced by high-yielding production systems that have concentrated in areas that are agroclimatically similar to plant-breeding locations. These effects hold for mechanization adoptions at both extensive margins (whether to adopt or not) and intensive margins (how much to adopt). These linkages have strengthened between 2006 and 2010s, partly due to improved efficiency in supply-side factors of mechanization.



Growth Of Modern Service Providers For The African Agricultural Sector An Insight From A Public Irrigation Scheme In Ghana


Growth Of Modern Service Providers For The African Agricultural Sector An Insight From A Public Irrigation Scheme In Ghana
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Author : Takeshima, Hiroyuki
language : en
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Release Date : 2017-09-19

Growth Of Modern Service Providers For The African Agricultural Sector An Insight From A Public Irrigation Scheme In Ghana written by Takeshima, Hiroyuki and has been published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2017-09-19 with Political Science categories.


This paper describes how modern service providers have emerged in the African agricultural sector, a subject that has been vastly understudied. The paper looks at providers of modern rice mills, power tillers, combine harvesters, and production services at a highly productive rice irrigation scheme in Ghana. These service providers earn net profits that are greater than the profits they would likely achieve from simply expanding rice production without investing in respective machines, suggesting that higher returns primarily induce the emergence of these modern providers. Surpluses and experiences from their years of rice production are likely to have provided the primary finance and knowledge required for entry. The service providers emerged by exploiting both the economies of scale and the economies of scope, keeping rice production as the primary source of income, instead of specializing only in service provisions. Key policy implications are also discussed.



Impact Of Ghana S Agricultural Mechanization Services Center Program


Impact Of Ghana S Agricultural Mechanization Services Center Program
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Author : Benin, Samuel
language : en
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Release Date :

Impact Of Ghana S Agricultural Mechanization Services Center Program written by Benin, Samuel and has been published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on with Social Science categories.


Use of mechanization in African agriculture has returned strongly to the development agenda, particularly following the recent high food prices crisis. Many developing country governments—including Ghana, the case study of this paper—have resumed support for agricultural mechanization, typically in the form of providing subsidies for tractor purchase and establishment of private-sector-run agricultural mechanization service centers (AMSECs). The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of Ghana’s AMSEC program on various outcomes, using data from household surveys that were conducted with 270 farmers, some of them located in areas with the AMSEC program (treatment) and others located in areas without the program (control).



Development Of Agricultural Mechanization In Ghana


Development Of Agricultural Mechanization In Ghana
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Author : Cossar, Frances
language : en
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Release Date : 2016-05-06

Development Of Agricultural Mechanization In Ghana written by Cossar, Frances and has been published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016-05-06 with Political Science categories.


This paper characterizes the network of tractor service providers in Ghana. Using the case of Ejura-Sekye-dumase district, this research examines the implications of the adoption of mechanical technology in agriculture for farmers and institutions based on perspectives that go beyond the suppliers and users of mechanization ser-vices alone. The results suggest that, in addition to rising population density and favorable access to local and regional markets, the current pattern of use of tractors by farmers in Ejura district emerged from favorable histori-cal and institutional factors. The current arrangement involving a network of private tractor owners providing trac-tor hire services to a broad set of farmers draws upon the legacy of an earlier institutional intervention and is sus-tained organizationally through kinship and other existing social relationships within and outside the district. More-over, the expansion of tractor use has created a set of new roles and relationships within the network. Participa-tion in the network is affected by various factors, including farmer’s access to capital and knowledge, experience, and contacts. This privately operated network is significantly more efficient and provides small-scale farmers with considerably better access to plowing service than did previous government-managed systems. Further develop-ment of the tractor service sector is likely to improve the quality of mechanization offered to smallholder farmers, enhance bargaining power for farmers seeking such services, and reduce structural weaknesses within the net-work.