Adoption and compliance with Council for Scientific and Industrial Research recommended maize production practices in Ashanti region, Ghana

Abstract

Purpose

There is a huge gap between actual and achievable yields of maize which threatens household food security in Ghana. Low adoption of improved maize production technologies coupled with poor compliance with Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) recommended maize production practices is identified as the cause of low yields. This study assessed farmers' compliance with CSIR recommended production practices and its effects on yield.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a structured questionnaire, a cross-sectional survey of 150 respondents were interviewed for the study. Descriptive statistics, awareness and compliance indices, probit model and Garret ranking technique were the methods of analysis employed in the study.

Findings

The results showed that farmers are highly aware, have adopted and hardly comply with standards of applications of CSIR recommended production practices. Farm size, age, educational level and female gender significantly influenced compliance with recommended production practices. Also, compliance with recommended production practices increase maize yield.

Originality/value

Policies aim at addressing yield gap in maize production should be targeted at improving farmers' level of compliance with production practices by addressing some constraints through farmer credit and subsidy programmes to help farmers increase their level of compliance. The fact that farmers have adopted recommended production practices does not necessarily mean they will have higher yields. The study generates important insights about how well farmers have been adhering to standards of adoption of recommended production practices.

Citation

Wongnaa, C.A., Bakang, J.-E.A., Asiamah, M., Appiah, P. and Asibey, J.K. (2021), "Adoption and compliance with Council for Scientific and Industrial Research recommended maize production practices in Ashanti region, Ghana", World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, Vol. 18 No. 4, pp. 438-456. https://doi.org/10.1108/WJSTSD-03-2021-0035