Rural non-farm engagement and agriculture commercialization in Ghana
Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies
ISSN: 2044-0839
Article publication date: 28 February 2023
Issue publication date: 29 January 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Ghana's economy is largely agrarian, and the business of agriculture is dominated by smallholder farmers who are predominantly rural dwellers. As a result, efforts to lift rural farming households from poverty have been narrowed to the promotion of agricultural development to the neglect of the rural non-farm sector. However, this is fast changing in the advent of a burgeoning rural nonfarm economy and must engage the attention of policy actors. This study thus assesses the effect of non-farm participation on households' level of commercialization of agricultural crops in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
The study applies a generalized structural equation model (GSEM) to the Ghana Living Standards Survey round 6 dataset, a stratified and nationally representative random sample of 16,772 households in 1,200 enumeration areas.
Findings
This study finds that non-farm participation increases the produce sold to output ratio. It is concluded that non-farm engagement by farmers boosts commercialization in Ghana. Thus, for the Ghanaian and similar contexts, agricultural development interventions that incorporate non-farm activities are more likely to be successful in improving livelihoods.
Research limitations/implications
The study uses only the ratio of sales value to output value definition for commercialization and acknowledges use of multiple definitions could be superior.
Originality/value
Various empirical studies have examined the link between the farm and nonfarm sectors. This paper is original in its approach as it tackles an aspect of the subject that has been understudied, namely, an exploration of nonfarm and farm linkages from the perspective of agricultural commercialization.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the valuable contributions of participants at the Annual Conferences of the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP) at which the study was presented. The helpful comments of three anonymous referees and the editor in improving the paper are also gratefully acknowledged. However, the usual disclaimer applies.
Citation
Nkegbe, P.K., Araar, A., Abu, B.M., Ustarz, Y., Alhassan, H., Setsoafia, E.D. and Abdul-Wahab, S. (2024), "Rural non-farm engagement and agriculture commercialization in Ghana", Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1108/JADEE-12-2021-0332
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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