Does fertiliser use improve household welfare? Evidence from Ghana's cocoa industry. Issue 2 (17th February 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Danso-Abbeam, Gideon; Baiyegunhi, Lloyd J. S.
• Is Part Of: Development in practice. Volume 29:Issue 2(2019)
• Page Start: 170
• Page End: 182
• Publication Date: 2019-02-17
• Subjects: Environment (built and natural) – Agriculture -- Food security -- Labour and livelihoods – Economics -- Sub-Saharan Africa; Technical assistance -- Developing countries -- Periodicals; Economic assistance -- Developing countries -- Periodicals; Developing countries -- Economic conditions -- Periodicals; 338.91091724
• DOI: 10.1080/09614524.2018.1526887
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0961-4524

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This article analyses welfare impacts of fertiliser adoption using data collected from 838 cocoa farm households in the four key cocoa-producing regions in Ghana. Using propensity score matching (PSM), the study indicates that application of fertiliser leads to significant gains in farm yields, farm income, consumption expenditure, consumption expenditure per capita, and value of productive farm assets. The article concludes that cocoa-specific programmes such as Cocoa High Technology (Cocoa Hi-tech), initiated to intensify the application of improved farm technologies such as fertiliser, should be strengthened through effective and efficient management systems.