IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ibn/jasjnl/v7y2015i10p79.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of Farmer Mentorship Project on Farm Efficiency and Income in Rural Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Edward Martey
  • Wilson Dogbe
  • Prince Etwire
  • Alexander Wiredu

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of participation in Agricultural Value Chain Mentorship Project on farm efficiency and income of soybean farmers in Northern Region of Ghana. Due to the exogenous and non-random assignment of the intervention, propensity score matching analysis was used to estimate impact on a cross-section of 200 smallholder farmers. Participation in farmer mentorship project impacts positively on farm technical efficiency by 28 percent. However, participation did not significantly translate into higher farm income. This finding suggests that exposing farmers to agricultural development projects may directly increase their technical capability wtihtin the short term but does not guarantee higher income. The design of any agricultural development project must incorporate the specific needs of farmers to ensure ownership, increased participation and sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Edward Martey & Wilson Dogbe & Prince Etwire & Alexander Wiredu, 2015. "Impact of Farmer Mentorship Project on Farm Efficiency and Income in Rural Ghana," Journal of Agricultural Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 7(10), pages 1-79, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:ibn:jasjnl:v:7:y:2015:i:10:p:79
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/jas/article/download/49301/28341
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/jas/article/view/49301
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Janvry, Alain de & Sadoulet, Elisabeth, 2001. "Income Strategies Among Rural Households in Mexico: The Role of Off-farm Activities," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 467-480, March.
    2. Asres Elias & Makoto Nohmi & Kumi Yasunobu & Akira Ishida, 2013. "Effect of Agricultural Extension Program on Smallholders’ Farm Productivity: Evidence from Three Peasant Associations in the Highlands of Ethiopia," Journal of Agricultural Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 5(8), pages 163-163, July.
    3. Rajeev H. Dehejia & Sadek Wahba, 2002. "Propensity Score-Matching Methods For Nonexperimental Causal Studies," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(1), pages 151-161, February.
    4. Godtland, Erin M & Sadoulet, Elisabeth & De Janvry, Alain & Murgai, Rinku & Ortiz, Oscar, 2004. "The Impact of Farmer Field Schools on Knowledge and Productivity: A Study of Potato Farmers in the Peruvian Andes," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 53(1), pages 63-92, October.
    5. Guido W. Imbens & Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2009. "Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 5-86, March.
    6. repec:aer:wpaper:178 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. repec:aer:wpaper:280bce018503 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Akhter Ali & Awudu Abdulai, 2010. "The Adoption of Genetically Modified Cotton and Poverty Reduction in Pakistan," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(1), pages 175-192, February.
    9. James Heckman & Hidehiko Ichimura & Jeffrey Smith & Petra Todd, 1998. "Characterizing Selection Bias Using Experimental Data," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 66(5), pages 1017-1098, September.
    10. Etwire, Prince Maxwell & Martey, Edward & Dogbe, Wilson, 2013. "Technical Efficiency of Soybean Farms and Its Determinants in Saboba and Chereponi Districts of Northern Ghana: A Stochastic Frontier Approach," Sustainable Agriculture Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 2(4).
    11. Awan, Masood Sarwar & Malik, Nouman & Sarwar, Haroon & Waqas, Muhammad, 2011. "Impact of education on poverty reduction," MPRA Paper 31826, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Battese, G E & Coelli, T J, 1995. "A Model for Technical Inefficiency Effects in a Stochastic Frontier Production Function for Panel Data," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 325-332.
    13. Sascha O. Becker & Andrea Ichino, 2002. "Estimation of average treatment effects based on propensity scores," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 2(4), pages 358-377, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dettmann, E. & Becker, C. & Schmeißer, C., 2011. "Distance functions for matching in small samples," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 55(5), pages 1942-1960, May.
    2. Davis, K. & Nkonya, E. & Kato, E. & Mekonnen, D.A. & Odendo, M. & Miiro, R. & Nkuba, J., 2012. "Impact of Farmer Field Schools on Agricultural Productivity and Poverty in East Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 402-413.
    3. Dan Pan, 2014. "The Impact of Agricultural Extension on Farmer Nutrient Management Behavior in Chinese Rice Production: A Household-Level Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(10), pages 1-22, September.
    4. Mishra, Ashok K. & Kumar, Anjani & Joshi, Pramod K. & D'souza, Alwin, 2016. "Impact of contracts in high yielding varieties seed production on profits and yield: The case of Nepal," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 110-121.
    5. Jones A.M & Rice N, 2009. "Econometric Evaluation of Health Policies," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 09/09, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    6. Gashaw Tadesse Abate & Gian Nicola Francesconi & Gian Nicola Francesconi, 2013. "Impact of agricultural cooperatives on smallholders' technical efficiency: evidence from Ethiopia," Euricse Working Papers 1350, Euricse (European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises).
    7. Abate, G. T., 2013. "Impact of agricultural cooperatives on smallholders\u2019 technical efficiency: evidence from Ethiopia," IWMI Working Papers H045831, International Water Management Institute.
    8. Martey, Edward & Kuwornu, John K.M. & Adjebeng-Danquah, Joseph, 2019. "Estimating the effect of mineral fertilizer use on Land productivity and income: Evidence from Ghana," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 463-475.
    9. Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C. & Zhao, Jun, 2020. "Doubly robust difference-in-differences estimators," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 219(1), pages 101-122.
    10. Tymon Słoczyński, 2015. "The Oaxaca–Blinder Unexplained Component as a Treatment Effects Estimator," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 77(4), pages 588-604, August.
    11. Solomon Asfaw & Silvio Daidone & Benjamin Davis & Josh Dewbre & Alessandro Romeo & Paul Winters & Katia Covarrubias & Habiba Djebbari, 2012. "Analytical Framework for Evaluating the Productive Impact of Cash Transfer Programmes on Household Behaviour – Methodological Guidelines for the From Protection to Production Project," Working Papers 101, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth.
    12. Kandpal, Eeshani, 2011. "Beyond Average Treatment Effects: Distribution of Child Nutrition Outcomes and Program Placement in India's ICDS," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(8), pages 1410-1421, August.
    13. Candon, David, 2018. "The effect of cancer on the labor supply of employed men over the age of 65," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 184-199.
    14. Dettmann, Eva & Becker, Claudia & Schmeißer, Christian, 2010. "Is there a Superior Distance Function for Matching in Small Samples?," IWH Discussion Papers 3/2010, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    15. Carlos A. Flores & Oscar A. Mitnik, 2009. "Evaluating Nonexperimental Estimators for Multiple Treatments: Evidence from Experimental Data," Working Papers 2010-10, University of Miami, Department of Economics.
    16. Yu, Li & Hurley, Terrance M. & Kliebenstein, James B. & Orazem, Peter F., 2012. "Firm Size, Technical Change, and Wages in the Pork Sector, 1990-2005," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 37(2), pages 1-17, August.
    17. Luca Grilli & Samuele Murtinu, 2011. "Econometric Evaluation of Public Policies for Science and Innovation: A Brief Guide to Practice," Chapters, in: Massimo G. Colombo & Luca Grilli & Lucia Piscitello & Cristina Rossi-Lamastra (ed.), Science and Innovation Policy for the New Knowledge Economy, chapter 3, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    18. Esaka, Taro, 2013. "Evaluating the effect of de facto pegs on currency crises," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 943-963.
    19. Ashok K. Mishra & Anjani Kumar & Pramod K. Joshi & Alwin D'Souza, 2018. "Cooperatives, contract farming, and farm size: The case of tomato producers in Nepal," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(4), pages 865-886, October.
    20. Marco Caliendo & Sabine Kopeinig, 2008. "Some Practical Guidance For The Implementation Of Propensity Score Matching," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 31-72, February.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • R00 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General - - - General
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ibn:jasjnl:v:7:y:2015:i:10:p:79. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Canadian Center of Science and Education (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cepflch.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.