A Microeconometric Assessment of the Integrated Crop-Livestock Production Systems in Ghana

Abstract

Majority of Ghanaian farmers produce multiple commodities in integrated farming systems. These systems contribute significantly to Ghana's domestic food production and food security. However, most of these farmers receive very low returns from their farming activities making it difficult to sustain or improve household livelihoods. One reason for these low returns is the low productivity and low uptake of technologies in these farming systems. This leaves most farmers in great financial difficulty, particularly during the dry season where most crops are not supported by the climatic conditions. The production of crops, such as yam, cassava, maize, cowpea, groundnut and soybean, as well as livestock, such as small ruminants in a diversified system, are very significant to the livelihoods of the farmers by ensuring a stable income and employment of productive resources throughout the year. Previous studies have focused on the analysis of the patterns of adoption and performance of farmers in a single crop or livestock production system, but attempts to evaluate the performance in integrated crop-livestock systems are limited. This study fills this gap by using farm-level data collected from farmers in the Atebubu-Amantin and Ejura-Sekyedumase districts to evaluate the nature of adoption of improved technologies in key crops and livestock and integrated crop-livestock farming systems. The nature and determinants of diversification and the extent and drivers of productivity in integrated crop-livestock systems in Ghana are also examined.