Ghana Journal of Development Studies

Examining drivers of technical, allocative and economic efficiencies in cocoa farming: empirical evidence from Ghana.

Emmanuel W. Inkoom, Henry D. Acquah , Samuel K. N. Dadzie — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In Ghana, cocoa production is a major economic activity among rural farmers. Its production contributes significantly to the GDP and further, livelihood security enhancement among rural folks. However, recent development has unveiled a situation of persistent low farm-level productivity among cocoa farmers which threatens their livelihood security. In view of this, we estimated the economic, technical, and allocative efficiencies among cocoa farmers and their determinants to help proffer relevant policy strategies to arrest the situation of low farm-level productivity. Using a multistage sampling procedure, we collected data from 750 cocoa farmers across the cocoa-growing regions of Ghana. To estimate the farm-level efficiency scores, we employed the stochastic frontier analysis and our results show that cocoa farmers generally exhibited significant levels of technical, allocative, and economic inefficiencies. We estimated the average technical, allocative, and economic efficiencies scores among the cocoa farmers to be 67%, 69%, and 51% respectively. The analysis of the determinants of technical, allocative, and economic inefficiencies revealed that farmer and farm-specific variables such as sex, household size, educational level, years of farming experience, frequency of extension contact, quality of extension received, use of climate smart adaptation technologies, farm size, farm labour and access to credit facilities significantly explain cocoa farm level efficiencies. Accordingly, we recommend that extension service providers and COCOBOD develop strategies to improve upon the quality of extension service delivery as well as incorporate the promotion and adoption of climate smart adaptation technologies into its productivity enhancement programmes for farmers.

Community empowerment and sustainability of forest conservation projects in Kenya

Humphrey Mwandawiro Mwambeo, Lydiah Nyaguthii Wambugu, Raphael Ondieki Nyonje — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This study investigated the inf luence of community empowerment on the sustainability of forest conservation projects in Kenya. It has been observed that many forest conservation projects cease as soon as financial support ends hence the need to investigate the phenomenon. This study was undertaken in the South-Eastern part of Kenya within Taita-Taveta County. Cross sectional survey design was used in the study. The study hypothesized that “There was no statistically significant relationship between community empowerment activities and sustainability of forest conservation projects.” It targeted 4138 household heads in five administrative locations considered as clusters in this study. Mixed research methods were used in the collection and analysis of data. A total of 365 quantitative data respondents were selected systematically, while qualitative data respondents were selected purposively. The study ascertained that at least 44.1% of respondents at least agreed that forest projects were sustainable, while 3.9% disagreed. Approximately 52% of respondents neither agreed nor disagreed that forest conservation projects were sustainable. Regression analysis showed F-ratio values of F (4,360) = 66.438; p < 0.05. The null hypothesis was therefore rejected. The study also ascertained that community empowerment influenced the sustainability of forest conservation projects. The researcher recommended that community empowerment activities be factored into future projects during the design stage to bolster sustainability.

Economic shocks and the growth of the Ghanaian cocoa industry from 1975 to 2019

Esther Yaa Benneh, Kwabena Asomanin Anaman — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In this study, we sought to identify some economic shocks that have affected the Ghanaian cocoa industry and the effects of these shocks based on available annual data over the 45-year period from 1975 to 2019. The analysis was conducted using a simple autoregressive model of the cocoa industry. The results of the analysis indicated that the major economic shocks affecting the cocoa industry in Ghana were political instability arising from military coups, producer price shock linked to very high producer prices, the La Cote d’Ivoire civil wars between 2002 to 2007, and 2010 to 2011, which resulted in large-scale smuggling of cocoa beans across the border to Ghana for sale, and the El Nino weather shock characterized by severe droughts and very low amounts of rainfall, which dampened the production of cocoa beans in Ghana. The negative shocks were the El Nino weather phenomenon and political instability. The positive shocks were the very high producer prices and La Cote d’Ivoire civil war. We suggest some recommendations. These include increased resourcing of the Ghana Meteorological Agency to improve its prediction of extreme weather effects whose occurrence affect the production of crops such as cocoa, the establishment of bigger price stabilization funds by the Ghana Cocoa Board to support the cocoa industry, and research studies to analyse the apparent link between dramatic drop in cocoa production and explosive depreciation of the Ghanaian currency, the Ghana cedi.

Obstacles in adopting Lean Thinking at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority in Ghana

Khinanwin Nyande, Seidu Al-Hassan, Damasus Tuurosong — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Lean Thinking ideology has established tools and techniques needed to reduce non-value-added activities such as waiting time, overproduction, transportation, motion, inventory and defects within an organization’s value stream. Numerous organizations across the world have applied Lean Thinking and have attained vast benefits. This research examined the obstacles or barriers to Lean implementation at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) in Ghana. The research used the concurrent mixed methods research design. A total of  clients of DVLA were sampled for the study using a simple random sampling approach. The data analysis for the study was grounded on the standardized Z-test and thematic analysis. The results from the study revealed that lack of top management support, consulting cost in Lean, stringent requirements and approval, lack of knowledge in Lean, and lack of government support for research and collaboration in Lean were the barriers in the Lean implementation process. It was therefore recommended that management and employees of DVLA should focus on identifying and eliminating the obstacles in Lean implementation which affect their operations.

Population growth in the Tamale Metropolis: a blessing or a curse to housing

Abdul-Kadri Yahaya — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In recent times the effects of population growth on housing is globally underscored. This calls for attention on how housing needs are met by populations in developing countries due to limited individual and state resources. This study, therefore, examines the effects of population growth on housing in the Tamale Metropolis by resorting to mixed methods research design. The study relied on methods such as questionnaire administration and key informant interviews for primary data collection in addition to the secondary data. The sample size of the study was 100 respondents apportioned to the sampled study communities (Sakasaka, Target, Lamashegu, Aboabo, and Zogbeli) on the bases of their populations. Quantitative data analysis was done by using the descriptive statistics component of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 and presented with tables while qualitative data analysis was done by resorting to content analysis and presented using quotations. As part of the findings, the study disclosed that the population of Tamale Metropolis has been galloping due to factors such as high fertility, positive net migration, and low mortality emanating from improvement in healthcare delivery in the metropolis. The study recommends for intensification of public-private partnerships in housing provision.

Remittances and domestic investment in Africa: do banking sector development and quality governance matter?

Joseph Dery Nyeadi, Abdulai Adams, Mohammed Musah — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Migrant remittances to home countries have seen a significant increase over the years, especially in developing countries where due to a lack of jobs or unfavourable working conditions, citizens move to advanced countries to better their economic conditions and their dependents in home countries. This has been facilitated by globalisation in modern times. Whereas most previous studies have delved more into remittances and their impact on economic growth, less studies have examined the link between remittances and domestic investment. This study examined the impact of remittances on domestic investment in Africa using a system GMM econometric estimator. Our study departs from the few studies that examined this link by further investigating the moderating role of banking sector development and quality governance on the link between remittances and domestic investment. Using data from 41 African countries from 2004 to 2018, the study discovered that migrant remittances have a direct negative impact on domestic investment in home countries. The study, however, found that both banking sector development and quality governance significantly positively impact domestic investment in Africa. Thus, when we interacted banking sector development and good governance separately with remittances, each interactive term had a significant positive impact on domestic investment. This means that for remittances to influence domestic investment, banking sector and good governance will need to be improved.

Migrant chiefs in urban Ghana: an exploratory study of some selected Dagomba Chiefs in Accra

Alhassan Sulemana Anamzoya, Alhassan Baba Zakaria — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Studies on migration have largely neglected the emergence of migrant chiefs in Africa’s urban centers. Chieftaincy analysis has also not been adequately extended to those who are migrants and how they are selected and installed as chiefs in the cities. Through deliberately-provoked conversations with Dagomba migrant chiefs and their elders, the paper undoubtedly extends the frontiers of both chieftaincy and migration studies bringing to the fore dynamics of Dagomba migrant chiefs and their changing roles in Ghana’s city of Accra. Reworking Blundo’s administrative brokers, this paper reveals how migrant chiefs in urban settings liaise with state institutions to help solve certain problems migrants encounter in the city. The paper concludes that other actors in the urban space, such as youth leaders around Members of Parliament coming from migrants’ home regions, could gradually take up the brokerage role in the city.

Moving beyond the ad hoc responses in flood management to a localization approach in Ghana

Chrysogonus Anab , Joseph Abazaami, Sulemana Adam Achanso — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Flooding has become one form of disaster that has become both a national and global concern. In Ghana, flooding has become a yearly ritual, displacing many community members, destroying farmlands, and cutting off communities. The state institution mandated to coordinate and manage disasters is the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO). However, NADMO is always overwhelmed with the level of humanitarian assistance required by flood victims annually due to limited resources. Floods management in Ghana is largely reactionary and short-term, hence the need for long-term planning. The researchers therefore used both secondary and primary data to investigate the drivers and gaps in the existing flood management approaches. The findings showed that inadequate funding, non-enforcement of settlement and farming laws; unhealthy environmental practices and low investments in flood containment infrastructure were the drivers of the perennial floods in Ghana. The major gap identified was the over reliance on central government and development partners to finance flood preparedness, response and recovery interventions. These funding sources have always been inadequate and irregular. The study concluded with a recommendation to NADMO and other state agencies to adopt a long-term, holistic and locally driven approach to flood management in Ghana.

‘I don’t command the equal respect as my peers’: Middle-class disability, stigma and social expectation in Ghana

Joseph Ocran — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Disability spoils the identities of persons with disability and exposes them to stigma. Contrary to the belief that disability stigma is associated with the low social class position, middle-class persons with disability also experience stigma. Experiences of poor and underprivileged persons with disability are well documented but the experiences of middle-class persons with disability are often unnoticed. This study explored how middle-class persons with disability experience lowered social expectations because of their assumed vulnerability and supposed functional incompetence. Using the hermeneutic phenomenology approach, the study explored the lived experiences of 16 middle-class persons with disability who were purposively selected. Data was collected through in-depth interviews and analysed using the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach. The participants shared experiences from various parts of Ghana. Middle-class persons with disability are assumed to lack physical strength, intellectual abilities, financial capacities, and relational abilities. They are, therefore, often treated with contempt. These experiences are influenced by nuances in social norms, relational factors, and personal characteristics such as social class, age, gender, type of impairment, and time of acquisition of impairment. Persons with disability are not a homogenous category of people. They are as diverse as non-disabled people are. The differences in their individual identities and social statuses must be considered in the design and implementation of social inclusion interventions and welfare policies meant to eliminate disability stigma and discrimination.