Impact of producer groups on the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices and economic performance of small farmers in Sub-Sahran Africa

Ebenezer Donkor

Doctoral thesis

Abstract:

In Ghana, sustainable cocoa-growing methods have also been aggressively promoted by the UN, EU and other international development organizations. However, adopting sustainable practices is often excessively knowledge-intensive. Smallholder farmers may need more expertise and understanding of such practices. The Ghanaian government has also implemented several policies to assist farmers in adopting sustainable cocoa practices and increasing productivity through producer organizations. The study analyzed the effect of producer groups' participation on adopting sustainable cocoa practices (SCPs) and farm performance in Ghana. Since the structure, characteristics, and dynamics of different producer groups vary and, as such, the impact may not be the same for all producer groups, this study analyzed the effect of producer groups by comparing the members of different producer groups and non-members to estimate the degree of impact based on the type of producer group. The study further investigated the effect of sustainable cocoa practices adoption on the farm performance of the cocoa farmers. 459 farmers (193 members of cooperatives, 143 members of farmer associations and 121 non-members of groups) were sampled for the study. The probit regression model was used to estimate farmers' decision to participate in a producer group, the stochastic frontier production model was used to estimate the technical efficiency of the cocoa farmers, the propensity score matching and endogenous treatment regression were adopted to cater for the observed and unobserved bias associated with assessing the impact of producer group membership on SCPs and farm performance, and the 3-SLS model was adopted to analyze the effect of SCPs adoption on the technical efficiency of the farmers. The study results showed that membership in producer groups (cooperatives and farmer associations) significantly affects the adoption of sustainable cocoa practices and the technical efficiency of cocoa farmers. However, the degree of the impact of producer groups is different for members of cooperatives and farmer associations. The study results further showed that the adoption of SCPs has a significant effect on the technical efficiency of cocoa farmers. The determinants of producer group participation were household size, perceived economic benefits of producer groups, and extension access. Based on the qualitative interview with the non-members, the study revealed that farmers decide not to join cocoa producer groups in Ghana because of the uniform pricing, logistical challenges, perception of group requirements, and the ability to sell to producer groups without formal membership. The study makes critical recommendations such as the expansion of producer groups to inaccessible areas, encouragement of more cooperatives development as compared to farmer associations, improvement in infrastructure in cocoa growing areas and cocoa price differentials.

Keywords

Cooperatives, Farmer associations, Sustainable cocoa practices, Technical efficiency, Propensity score matching, Cocoa farmers, Endogenous treatment regression.

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 8. 3. 2024

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: doc. Dr. RNDr. Tomáš Ratinger
• Reader: Oto Potluka, Ing., externi, Yiorgos Alexopoulos, externi, Axel Wolz, externi

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences

Doctoral programme:
Sustainable Rural Development