FARMERS’ PERCEPTION ON IRRIGATION FARMING AND THE FACTORS INFLUENCING ACCESS TO AND SIZE OF IRRIGABLE LANDS IN NORTHERN REGION, GHANA

Abstract

Aim: The impacts of climate change and variability requires proactive and reactive adaptation. The high reliance of farmers on rainfed agriculture leads to their high vulnerability to climate change. As an agrarian economy, irrigation farming system is an essential proactive and/or reactive strategy for the increasing erratic rainfalls in Northern Ghana. This study analyzed the perceptions of smallholder farmers on irrigation farming and the factors that influence access to and size of irrigable lands among communities in the catchment of two irrigation dams. Study Design: The study adopted a multi-stage sampling procedure. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in the Northern Region of Ghana. The data for the study was collected in 2014. Methodology: Through a multi-stage sampling, a cross-sectional data was collected from 240 smallholder farmers. These included both irrigation farmers and non-irrigation farmers. The data was analyzed through switching regression and descriptive statistics. Results: The result revealed that water unavailability is not a major challenge to most irrigation farmers. The farmers engaged in irrigation vegetable farming mostly for cash purpose and also perceived a high demand for vegetables, especially in the dry season. From the farmers perception, group membership, distance to irrigable land, cost of irrigable land, leadership characteristics and nativity significantly influenced access to irrigable lands. From the econometric result, experience, farmer group, credit, extension, labour availability and age had significant influence on irrigation farming while education, experience, extension, sex and labour availability significantly influenced the acreage cultivated by the vegetable farmers. Conclusion: The study concluded that, while there is high market potential for irrigated produce, access to and the size of irrigable lands are significantly determined by a mixed of factors. Therefore, while farmers are encouraged to go into irrigation vegetable production, government’s policies such as ‘one village one dam’ should be effectively implemented to realize the needed results.