CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION AND IMPACT IN THE EAST GONJA DISTRICT OF GHANA

Abstract

Climate Smart Agriculture has been introduced as a viable solution to tackling the climate change challenge across the world. It is believed to have the potential of increasing resilience to the impacts of climate change while simultaneously increasing crop yield and incomes of farmers and reducing the emission of Greenhouse Gases. The aim of this study was to determine the factors contributing to the adoption of CSA practices in the East Gonja district of the Northern region of Ghana and the impact of the adoption of these practices on the welfare of farmers and their contribution to GHG emissions. Data was obtained from a sample of 350 maize farmers randomly selected through personal interviews using semi structured questionnaires. Farmers’ demographic and socioeconomic characteristics as well as their perceptions on climate change were analyzed descriptively. The study showed that Soil conservation and livelihood diversification practices were highly adopted compared to irrigation and water harvesting. The Multivariate Probit model, Generalized Poisson model and Endogenous Switching Regression model were used in analyzing the determinants of CSA adoption, Farmers’ participation in emission practices and the impact of adoption of CSA practices on welfare respectively. Farm size, credit access and production intention were some of the variables found to influence the adoption of CSA practices in the district. Household size, education, production intention and off-farm revenue were also found to significantly influence the participation in emission practices. The study also showed that non-adopters had a better welfare in terms of per capita consumption expenditure compared to adopters from the ESR model. The study concluded that farmers who adopted CSA practices were less likely to contribute to GHG emissions from farming activities although they had a lower welfare compared to non-adopters. The study recommends that, government should consider the integration of CSA practices into the sector’s policy and also, further research should be carried out into finding the impact of CSA adoption using alternative welfare proxies and estimation techniques.