GENDER AND THE RATE OF ADOPTION OF MAIZE AND SOYBEANS TECHNOLOGIES IN FOUR DISTRICTS OF GHANA

Abstract

The study sought to assess the influence of gender on the extent of adoption of three maize and soybean technologies. Four districts (West Mamprusi, Sawla-Tuna-Kalba, East Gonja and Zabzugu) where maize and soybean are predominantly cultivated were purposively sampled for the study. Questionnaire, Focus Group Discussions, key informant interviews and desktop reviews of reports were used for the data collection. Pearson’s Chi-square tests were employed to establish the association between the extent of adoption of the technologies with gender. Over 60% of the farmers adopted the three technologies. Most (99.8%) farmers confirmed that the technologies were used by both men and women. About 42.4% of female and 31.08% of male farmers who used the technologies agreed to getting better market for their produce. Also, 37.84% of the male farmers strongly agreed to recording consistent improvement in the yield of maize and soybeans as against 32.20% of female farmers who said same. Generally, male (30.07%) farmers tend to adopt technologies that will help them increase their output whereas females tend to prefer technologies that will enhance the price of their produce. However, 49.79% of females are more likely to adopt a combination of organic and inorganic soil amendments than males (45.79%). It can then be recommended that technologies should be developed to target the preferences of male and female smallholder farmers. Further research should be conducted to establish the relevance of gender to the adoption of technologies in other staple crops.