Land rights, Social capital and investments in sustainable management practices and productivity enhancing inputs in Ghana
Final Report Abstract
The role of land tenancy arrangements and social networks in enhancing investments in soil conservation measures and productivity-enhancing inputs, and their impact on farm productivity remains an issue of great significance for both researchers and policy-makers. The current research project developed a framework to examine the relationship between different land tenancy arrangements and farm households’ investment in soil conservation measures, as well as their effects on farm productivity. Moreover, the research also examined the determinants and impacts of soil and water conservation measures. Land tenancy arrangements considered include owner-cultivators, fixed-rent, and sharecropping contracts. Specifically, we employed variations in tenancy arrangements between different plots to estimate plot-level regressions relating tenancy arrangement to investment in organic manure, ditches, and mineral fertilizer application. We also examined the impact of adoption of organic certification methods on the use of sustainable management practices, as well as the effects of adoption of soil conservation measures on farm productivity and net returns. The findings show that secured land rights tend to facilitate investment in soil improving and natural resource management practices. In particular, farmers who owned land with secured tenure were more likely to invest in soil conservation measures like organic manure and ditches, and less in chemical fertilizer. Farmers on fixed-rent and sharecropping contracts were less likely to attract investments in soil-improving measures such as mulch and organic manure, although fixed-rent farmers were more likely to invest in yield increasing inputs such as chemical fertilizers. The positive association of tenancy duration, representing tenure security, with investment in soil conservation measures also suggests that making temporary rights longer enhances investments in soil conservation practices. The results also revealed that farmers’ investments in productivity-enhancing inputs and soil conservation measures tend to raise farm productivity. Our analysis of the impact of organic certification on the adoption of sustainable management practices showed that organic certification increases agro-ecological practice use, suggesting that organic certification can serve as a catalyst for the use of productivityenhancing inputs and soil-improving measures, such as organic fertilizers, organic pest and weed control, crop rotation, and soil and water conservation methods. The results from the adoption and impact of soil and water conservation technologies indicate that effective dissemination and adoption of new conservation technologies could be improved, if government and extension services take the lead in the promotion and dissemination at the initial stages and in the process of creating an enabling environment for the effective participation of the private sector. The findings from the various studies do have some policy implications. In particular, the findings from the analysis of land tenancy arrangements and investment indicate that ensuring tenure arrangements that confer permanent or sufficiently long temporary rights to cultivators would enhance investment in both soil-improving inputs and natural resource management practices. The results also provide support for productivity-based arguments that underlines the significance of enhancing farmers’ access to capital to help them overcome liquidity constraints in production and adoption of new technologies to increase yields. If successfully managed, organic certification for the dominantly small farmers in Africa may provide two types of economic benefits. It may reduce rural poverty by providing market access for their products, and higher profits through a combination of higher prices and resilient yields from sustainable production methods. It could also provide environmental benefits for the local economy in the long term.
Publications
- (2011). Adoption of safer irrigation technologies and cropping patterns: Evidence from Southern Ghana. Ecological Economics Vol. 70(7), pp. 1415-1423
Abdulai, A., V. Owusu and E.A. Bakang
- (2011). Land Tenure Arrangements and Investment in Land Improvement Measures: Theoretical and Empirical Analysis. Journal of Development Economics Vol. 96(1), pp. 66-78
Abdulai, A., V. Owusu and R. Goetz
- (2013). Organic Certification, Agro-Ecological Practices and Return on Investment: Evidence from Pineapple Producers in Ghana. Ecological Economics Vol. 93, pp. 330-341
Kleemann, L. and A. Abdulai
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2013.06.017) - (2014). Adoption and Impact of Soil and Water Conservation Technology: An Endogenous Switching Regression Application. Land Economics Vol. 90, pp. 26-43
Abdulai, A. and W.E. Huffman
(See online at https://doi.org/10.3368/le.90.1.26) - (2014). Certification and Access to Export Markets: Adoption and Return on Investment of Organic Certified Pineapple Farming in Ghana. World Development. Vol. 64, pp. 79-92
Kleemann, L., Abdulai, A. and Buss, M.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.05.005) - (2014). Time-related Characteristics of Tenancy Contracts and Investment in Soil Conservation Practices. Environmental and Resource Economics. Vol. 59, pp. 87-109
Abdulai, A. and R. Goetz
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-013-9719-y) - (2015). Duration and Renewal of Contracts: Investment, Production and Asset Quality. Working Paper of the Department of Food Economics and Consumption Studies, University of Kiel
Goetz, R., Yatsenko, Y., Abdulai, A., Hritonenko, N. and Xabadia, A.
