Adoption and impacts of sustainable intensification practices in Ghana. Issue 5 (3rd September 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kotu, Bekele Hundie; Alene, Arega; Manyong, Victor; Hoeschle-Zeledon, Irmgard; Larbi, Asamoah
• Is Part Of: International journal of agricultural sustainability. Volume 15:Issue 5(2017)
• Page Start: 539
• Page End: 554
• Publication Date: 2017-09-03
• Subjects: Sustainable intensification practices -- adoption -- impacts -- Ghana; Agriculture -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Agricultural ecology -- Periodicals; 338.14
• DOI: 10.1080/14735903.2017.1369619
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1473-5903

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Sustainable agricultural intensification requires the use of multiple agricultural technologies in an integrated manner to enhance productivity while conserving the natural resource base. This study analyses the adoption and impacts of sustainable intensification practices (SIPs) using a dataset from Ghana. A multivariate probit (MVP) model was estimated to assess the adoption of multiple SIPs. Moreover, we used a multivalued semi-parametric treatment effect (MVTE) model to estimate the effects of adopting multiple SIPs on maize productivity. The MVP model results show, among others, that access to market, capital, and information/knowledge would enhance the adoption of SIPs. The MVTE model results show that a higher number of SIPs is associated with higher productivity which is more visible when commercial inputs are used in combination with cultural practices. These results have the following policy implications. First, they imply that good rural infrastructure and agricultural services such as rural road network, village-level input delivery system, input credit, and multiple information/knowledge sharing approach (instead of the conventional singular formal information/knowledge sharing approach) can enhance adoption. Second, the results suggest that promoting an integrated use of technologies, instead of a single technology, would have a positive impact on farm productivity and farm household income.