Do smallholder farmers belong to the same adopter category? An assessment of smallholder farmers innovation adopter categories in Ghana

Post-Covid-19 pandemic extension delivery: A systematic review of E-extension services prospects in Ghana

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the limitations of the traditional, in-person agricultural extension services in Ghana. This systematic review investigates the potential and readiness of Ghana to adopt digital agricultural extension services (E-extension) in the post-pandemic era. Employing the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal tools, we analyzed institutional and journal articles from 2010 to 2022. Our findings reveal a rapidly growing telecommunication sector in Ghana, with mobile phone usage and ICT adoption exceeding the Sub-Saharan Africa average. This digital infrastructure creates a promising foundation for public E-extension initiatives. However, the review emphasizes the critical need to integrate digital strategies with existing methods to ensure inclusive and effective reach, particularly for marginalized communities. Ultimately, this review highlights the untapped potential of leveraging ICT advancements for resilient and accessible E-extension services in Ghana, offering a transformative pathway for agricultural extension in the post-pandemic era.

Drivers and intensity of adoption of digital agricultural services by smallholder farmers in Ghana

The penetration of digital technologies to enhance market participation by farmers, and intensify farmers' access to support services such as finance, farm inputs, and agricultural production information is on the rise in developing countries. However, the drivers and intensity of the adoption of these technologies by Ghanaian farmers have received little attention in policy and academic circles. This study analyzed the factors that drive the adoption and intensity of adoption of digital agricultural solutions by smallholder farmers in the Bono East Region of Ghana. The study used a survey questionnaire to collect data from 1199 randomly selected smallholder farmers in 2023. The multivariate probit model and the Heckpoisson regression model were used to analyze the drivers of different digital agricultural solutions and the intensity of adoption of these solutions, respectively. The results show that there is a joint demand for technologies that enhance access to extension services and those that accelerate access to inputs. Market-oriented solutions and agricultural extension solutions exhibited a complementary relationship. In addition to selected socio-demographic factors, the study found that membership in farmer-based organizations, access to credit, and participation in agronomic training increased farmers' propensity to adopt different digital agricultural solutions and increased the number of solutions adopted by farmers. Receiving visits from extension officers reduced the likelihood and intensity of adopting digital agricultural solutions. The results suggest that government and development partners should enhance access to credit and promote capacity development programmes among farmers. This will capacitate them to adopt digital agricultural solutions.

Farmers' choice for indigenous practices and implications for climate-smart agriculture in northern Ghana

Smallholder agriculture in Northwestern Ghana continues to suffer the increasing threats of climate change and variability. The extant literature has argued that climate-smart agriculture is the way forward for smallholder farmers to reduce the threats of climate change and variability in agriculture production. However, smallholder farmers continue to rely on indigenous knowledge and practices in their day-to-day agricultural activities. Few studies have explored the rationale and factors that explain smallholder farmers choice of local agriculture practices. This study explored the rationale and factors that explain smallholder farmers' choice of indigenous knowledge and agriculture practices. The mixed research method approach involving both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed for data collection and analysis. A survey, involving 305 household heads, 31 in-depth interviews and 18 focus group discussions were held with key participants for the data. The results showed that smallholder farmers' decisions to adopt indigenous practices for climate change adaptation were influenced by socio-demographic characteristics, access to farm capital, landscape and distance to farms, accessibility and reliability of practices, accessibility and cost of inputs, land tenure, access to extension services, and socio-cultural beliefs. These variables were statistically significant at 5 %. The paper concludes that these factors will continue to limit farmers' ability to adopt climate-smart and other improved agricultural practices. This will aggravate smallholder households' vulnerability to food insecurity and poverty. It is, therefore, recommended that climate-smart agriculture practices should be framed within the context of the aforementioned factors influencing farmers choice of indigenous farming practices in mainstreaming them into climate-smart agriculture.