The association between household food security and type of farm power used in land preparation among smallholder farmers in semi-arid northern Ghana

Keywords: Climate change, agricultural mechanization, household food security, smallholder farmers, Ghana
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Saturday
Session Start / End Time: 2/26/2022 08:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/26/2022 09:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 7

Abstract

In sub–Saharan Africa where the impacts of climate change are disproportionately felt, food insecurity is increasingly becoming a major concern for smallholder farmers. Although agricultural mechanization has received tremendous attention in SSA over the past couple of years as a potential pathway for improving agricultural productivity, its links with food security among smallholders remain unclear. This paper contributes to the literature by examining the association between household food security and source of farm power for land preparation among smallholder households (n=1100). The findings from regression analysis show that households that used tractors for land preparation were significantly more likely (OR=1.43, p≤0.05) to report being food secure when compared to households using manual tools. Similarly, households with older (OR=2.41, p≤0.05) and formally educated (OR=7.71, p≤0.001) primary farmers were also more likely to report being food secure when compared to households with younger and informally educated primary farmers. Further, households in the middle wealth category (OR=1.71, p≤0.01), as well as those practicing joint decision-making (OR=1.61, p≤0.05) also had a higher likelihood of being food secure. Surprisingly, however, households that had access to formal sources of credit were had a lesser likelihood (OR=0.66, p≤0.05) of being food secure. Although the aim of the study is not to generalize these findings, the indication of the potentiality of improving food security through an adequate utility of mechanized agricultural technologies is profoundly significant. There is a need for programs that improve the accessibility of the rural poor to vital productive resources amid escalating environmental change.