IMPROVED TOMATO (LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM) SEED VARIETY ADOPTION, EFFICIENCY AND WELFARE OF FARMERS IN SELECTED AGRO-ECOLOGICAL ZONES OF GHANA

Abstract

In recent times, the government of Ghana is working intensely with its institutions and development partners to develop and disseminate improved tomato seed varieties (ITSV) to farmers to increase domestic production, with the broad objective to reduce tomato importation in the country. However, there is limited quantitative evidence on how the adoption of ITSV affects farmers‘ efficiency and well-being. Against this backdrop, this study examined the factors that influence farmers‘ adoption of ITSV, the impact of adoption on farmers‘ welfare, farmers‘ technical efficiency and marketing efficiency. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 508 farmers and 65 market players from three agro-ecological sectors for interview. Regarding the determinants of ITSV adoption and its effects on welfare, the study employed the multinomial endogenous switching regression (MESR) model to correct for possible selectivity bias problems. Based on field observation, the respondents were put into mutually exclusive categories which warranted the estimation of the multinomial logit in the first stage of the MESR. The categories were Techiman variety (traditional variety), Pectomer, Power Roma and Pectomer/Power Roma. The study employed the Metafrontier technical efficiency (MFTE) model to examine farmers‘ technical efficiency across the various agro-ecological zones. Similarly, the impact of tomato seed variety adoption on production efficiency was estimated using a stochastic metafrontier (SMF) model and propensity score-matching (PSM) technique to address self-selection bias. Marketing margins and the ordinary least squares (OLS) regression were used to analyse farmers‘ marketing efficiency and its determinants. Results revealed that the proportion of farmers who adopted pectomer was higher than those who adopted both pectomer and power roma, power roma alone and the local variety (Techiman). Results from the MESR model revealed that male farmers, relatively wealthy farmers who benefited from credit as well as farmers residing in Forest Savannah Transitional Zone (FSTZ) and those who perceived that improved varieties improved yields had higher probabilities of adopting ITSV over the local variety. Also, the adoption of ITSV improved household welfare. The findings of group specific metafrontier technical efficiencies (MFTEs) and technical gap ratios (TGRs) showed that tomato farmers in Ghana produced below the group frontier due to limited and inefficient utilization of the available technologies. Farmers in FSTZ achieved higher mean technical efficiency than those in Coastal Savannah Zone (CSZ) and Guinea Savannah Zone (GSZ). Furthermore, the group-specific TE scores from the adoption of ITSV were higher than the group-specific TE scores from the adoption of the local seed variety. Specifically, farmers who adopted pectomer and both pectomer and power roma, had mean TE of 93.1% and 90.9% respectively, compared to 86.2% and 88.8%, had they not adopted. Land, seeds, insecticides, and tractor services positively influenced tomato production in GSZ, FSTZ and CSZ. Farmers who were: male; formally educated; belonged to FBO; and had access to extension services, were technically efficient in GSZ and FSTZ. In CSZ, female farmers and farmers producing tomato as a secondary occupation were more technically efficient. Marketing efficiency (ME) of farmers was higher than that of wholesalers but not as high as those of retailers. However, farmers had the least market power. The study recommends that research institutions such as CSIR and its affiliates should step up efforts aimed at increasing farmers‘ access to ITSV with high-yielding capability, tolerance to pest and bad weather. Efforts aimed at increasing tomato farmers‘ adoption of improved tomato varieties could be directed through trained extension agents and provision of credit to farmers. The Buffer Stock Programme should be strengthened to buy farm produce and stabilize prices so as to minimize exploitative power of market queens and retailers in the tomato value chain.