Household-specific food price differentials and high-value crop production in rural Ghana. (November 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dzanku, Fred M.
• Is Part Of: Food policy. Volume 57(2015)
• Page Start: 73
• Page End: 82
• Publication Date: 2015-11
• Subjects: Africa -- Food crops -- High-value crops -- Price bands -- Panel data -- Ghana; Food supply -- Periodicals; Food security -- Periodicals; Food -- Quality -- Periodicals; Food Supply -- Periodicals; Alimentation -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 338.1905
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2015.09.004
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0306-9192

Abstract

Highlights: Household-specific food price differentials and high-value crop production. Cropland share allocation to high-value crops decreases with increasing price band. High-value crop promoting policies may fail under high market transactions cost. Improving rural infrastructure could promote responsiveness to price incentives. Abstract: Using panel data from Ghana we have examined the relationship between household-specific producer–consumer price differentials and rural household cropland allocation between food and high-value crops. We test the hypothesis that cereal price bands induce a shift of resources away from high-value crop production, making smallholders appear unresponsive to price incentives. Our results lend support to this hypothesis, implying that a policy aiming at increasing farmers' income through high-value crop production may fail if hard and soft infrastructure does not improve in rural areas, and if staple crop productivity does not increase significantly.