Agricultural mechanization in Ghana: Is specialization in agricultural mechanization a viable business model?

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : pages
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Book Synopsis Agricultural mechanization in Ghana: Is specialization in agricultural mechanization a viable business model? by : Houssou, Nazaire

Download or read book Agricultural mechanization in Ghana: Is specialization in agricultural mechanization a viable business model? written by Houssou, Nazaire and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 24 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Agricultural Mechanization in Ghana by : Nazaire Houssou

Download or read book Agricultural Mechanization in Ghana written by Nazaire Houssou and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2013-03-29 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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: Insights from a recent field study

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 42 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Agricultural mechanization in Ghana: Insights from a recent field study by : Diao, Xinshen

Download or read book Agricultural mechanization in Ghana: Insights from a recent field study written by Diao, Xinshen and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Medium and large-scale farmers and agricultural mechanization in Ghana

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 49 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Medium and large-scale farmers and agricultural mechanization in Ghana by : Chapoto, Antony

Download or read book Medium and large-scale farmers and agricultural mechanization in Ghana written by Chapoto, Antony and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2014-06-27 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Impact of Ghana’s agricultural mechanization services center program

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 40 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Impact of Ghana’s agricultural mechanization services center program by : Benin, Samuel

Download or read book Impact of Ghana’s agricultural mechanization services center program written by Benin, Samuel and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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).

Agricultural Mechanization in Ghana

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (117 download)

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Book Synopsis Agricultural Mechanization in Ghana by : Xinshen Diao

Download or read book Agricultural Mechanization in Ghana written by Xinshen Diao and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Boserupian pressure and agricultural mechanization in modern Ghana

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 32 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Boserupian pressure and agricultural mechanization in modern Ghana by : Cossar, Frances

Download or read book Boserupian pressure and agricultural mechanization in modern Ghana written by Cossar, Frances and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-04-29 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The adoption of machinery in agricultural production in Africa south of the Sahara has been far behind the level of mechanization found in Asia and Latin America. However, recent survey data have revealed high levels of machinery use in localized areas of cereal production in northern Ghana. A survey conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute, in partnership with the Savannah Agriculture Research Institute, found that in some areas more than 80 percent of farmers were using machinery for at least one operation. This paper considers the theoretical drivers of agricultural intensification, as outlined by Boserup, Pingali, and Binswanger, and the extent to which they are able to explain the spatial variation in machinery use found in northern Ghana. Population pressure, market access, and agroecological conditions are considered key drivers that cause farmers to find ways to increase productivity and adopt new technologies. Combining survey data with geospatial datasets, the empirical analysis finds that population growth and travel time to the local urban center explain a significant and large proportion of the variation in machinery use by farmers.

Development of agricultural mechanization in Ghana

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 17 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Development of agricultural mechanization in Ghana by : Cossar, Frances

Download or read book Development of agricultural mechanization in Ghana written by Cossar, Frances and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-05-06 with total page 17 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

An evolving paradigm of agricultural mechanization development: How much can Africa learn from Asia?

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 : 0896293807
Total Pages : 548 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (962 download)

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Book Synopsis An evolving paradigm of agricultural mechanization development: How much can Africa learn from Asia? by : Diao, Xinshen, ed.

Download or read book An evolving paradigm of agricultural mechanization development: How much can Africa learn from Asia? written by Diao, Xinshen, ed. and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2020-12-07 with total page 548 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agricultural mechanization in Africa south of the Sahara — especially for small farms and businesses — requires a new paradigm to meet the needs of the continent’s evolving farming systems. Can Asia, with its recent success in adopting mechanization, offer a model for Africa? An Evolving Paradigm of Agricultural Mechanization Development analyzes the experiences of eight Asian and five African countries. The authors explore crucial government roles in boosting and supporting mechanization, from import policies to promotion policies to public good policies. Potential approaches presented to facilitating mechanization in Africa include prioritizing market-led hiring services, eliminating distortions, and developing appropriate technologies for the African context. The role of agricultural mechanization within overall agricultural and rural transformation strategies in Africa is also discussed. The book’s recommendations and insights should be useful to national policymakers and the development community, who can adapt this knowledge to local contexts and use it as a foundation for further research.

Can the private sector lead agricultural mechanization in Ghana?

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 4 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Can the private sector lead agricultural mechanization in Ghana? by : Houssou, Nazaire

Download or read book Can the private sector lead agricultural mechanization in Ghana? written by Houssou, Nazaire and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2014-09-01 with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Increasing agricultural mechanization has long been of interest to many African countries. Constrained by the limited area that can be cultivated through the use of the hand hoe and its association with perceptions of primitiveness and drudgery, agricultural mechanization and large-scale farming have long been a part of the vision of modernizing agriculture in many African countries, including Ghana.

Agricultural Mechanization in Africa

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780896292963
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (929 download)

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Book Synopsis Agricultural Mechanization in Africa by : Xinshen Diao

Download or read book Agricultural Mechanization in Africa written by Xinshen Diao and published by . This book was released on 2017-12 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Agricultural Mechanization in Africa: Insights from Ghana's Experience

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (137 download)

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Book Synopsis Agricultural Mechanization in Africa: Insights from Ghana's Experience by : Xinshen Diao

Download or read book Agricultural Mechanization in Africa: Insights from Ghana's Experience written by Xinshen Diao and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Determinants of Agricultural Machinery Adoption Intensities in Ghana

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 4 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Determinants of Agricultural Machinery Adoption Intensities in Ghana by : Hiroyuki Takeshima

Download or read book Determinants of Agricultural Machinery Adoption Intensities in Ghana written by Hiroyuki Takeshima and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2019-08-31 with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Increased capital use in agriculture, including mechanization, is con-sidered an integral process of agricultural transformation. Despite some recent emergence of medium-to-large scale farmers in SSA, as well as labor-movement out of agricultural sector (particularly youths), smallholders without substantial mechanization have re-mained the majority in the agricultural sector in countries like Gha-na. Globally, mechanization has often been associated with large-scale farming given the complementarity between machine and land. The experiences in Asia in the last few decades, however, suggest that mechanization may grow even among smallholders before they transition into larger-scale farmers. These experiences have prompted the need to understand better how mechanization may be adopted by smallholders for whom the scope for exploiting complementarity between mechanization and land is limited. We test the hypotheses that high-yielding technologies, which potentially raise returns to more intensive farm power use, are im-portant drivers of adoptions of agricultural mechanization among smallholders at both extensive and intensive margins. We do so using the three rounds of repeated cross-sectional, nationally rep-resentative data (Ghana Living Standard Surveys (GLSS) 2006, 2013, 2017), as well as unique tractor-use data in Ghana collected by IFPRI and Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (IFPRI-SARI data), and multi-dimensional indicators of agroclimatic similarity with plant-breeding locations.

Agricultural intensification, technology adoption, and institutions in Ghana

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 4 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Agricultural intensification, technology adoption, and institutions in Ghana by : Houssou, Nazaire

Download or read book Agricultural intensification, technology adoption, and institutions in Ghana written by Houssou, Nazaire and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-10-14 with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization: A Framework for Africa

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Publisher : Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN 13 : 9251308713
Total Pages : 150 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (513 download)

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Book Synopsis Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization: A Framework for Africa by : Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Download or read book Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization: A Framework for Africa written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2019-03-13 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This framework presents ten interrelated principles/elements to guide Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa (SAMA). Further, it presents the technical issues to be considered under SAMA and the options to be analysed at the country and sub regional levels. The ten key elements required in a framework for SAMA are as follows: The analysis in the framework calls for a specific approach, involving learning from other parts of the world where significant transformation of the agricultural mechanization sector has already occurred within a three-to-four decade time frame, and developing policies and programmes to realize Africa’s aspirations of Zero Hunger by 2025. This approach entails the identification and prioritization of relevant and interrelated elements to help countries develop strategies and practical development plans that create synergies in line with their agricultural transformation plans. Given the unique characteristics of each country and the diverse needs of Africa due to the ecological heterogeneity and the wide range of farm sizes, the framework avoids being prescriptive.

Meeting Ghanaian farmers' demand for a full range of mechanization services

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 4 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Meeting Ghanaian farmers' demand for a full range of mechanization services by : Houssou, Nazaire

Download or read book Meeting Ghanaian farmers' demand for a full range of mechanization services written by Houssou, Nazaire and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-10-14 with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Geography of smallholders’ tractor adoptions and R&D–Induced land productivity: Evidence from household survey data in Ghana

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 51 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Geography of smallholders’ tractor adoptions and R&D–Induced land productivity: Evidence from household survey data in Ghana by : Hiroyuki Takeshima

Download or read book Geography of smallholders’ tractor adoptions and R&D–Induced land productivity: Evidence from household survey data in Ghana written by Hiroyuki Takeshima and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2019-10-10 with total page 51 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.