Drivers of adoption of crop protection and soil fertility management practices among smallholder soybean farmers in Tolon district of Ghana

Among the critical challenges affecting crop production and agricultural productivity in most developing countries are declining soil fertility and the incidence of crop pests and diseases. Hence, there have been efforts by scientists and policy-makers especially in sub-Saharan Africa to promote the uptake of agronomic and production practices that address these challenges. This study, therefore, aimed at investigating the drivers of adoption of crop protection and soil fertility (CPSF) management practices among soybean farmers in rural Ghana. The management practices investigated included application of chemical fertilizers, biofertilizers (inoculants) and herbicides. The study was motivated by the critical roles that adoption of CPSF management practices play in promoting agricultural productivity. Multivariate probit (MVP) and censored Tobit modelling were used to estimate adoption and intensity of adoption, respectively. Adoption of rhizobium inoculant and chemical fertilizer, as well as adoption of rhizobium inoculant and herbicide application, were mutually exclusive, while adoption of chemical fertilizer and herbicide were found to be complementary. Adoption intensity was higher for female farmers and increased with age, herd size, farm capital and farm size. Furthermore, institutional factors were more influential in the case of inoculant and herbicide adoption while for fertilizer adoption, farmer characteristics were the influential factors. The study recommends that policies to promote adoption should take into account the interdependence among the technologies. Also, there is the need to target farmers who cannot afford the cost of inputs with support in the form of input subsidies to reduce partial adoption.

Automated summary

This study investigated the factors driving the adoption of crop protection and soil fertility management practices among soybean farmers in rural Ghana, and found that there is interdependence among different technologies, with institutional factors being more influential for some practices and farmer characteristics for others.