Impact of agricultural policy intervention on yield and profitability of maize farmers: The case of Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme in Ghana

Abstract

There have been rising concerns about the implementation and effective monitoring of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme in Ghana. This paper examines farmers’ perceptions and impact of the PFJ programme on yield and profitability of maize in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Using data from 400 maize producers, we employ perception indices, endogenous regression, propensity score matching and inverse probability weighted regression adjustment approach to evaluate farmers’ perceptions about the programme and investigate the determinants of farmers’ participation in the PFJ programme and its impact on maize yield and profitability. Our results showed that farmers have a positive perception about the PFJ programme. Furthermore, the key factors influencing participation in PFJ are years of formal education, political affiliation, farm size, experience in maize farming, marital status, offfarm income, credit access, political affiliation and distance from farmer location to district capital. In addition, the results show that the PFJ programme has a significant positive impact on maize yield and profitability. For effective participation, the interventions should target educated farmers with large farm sizes- and living farther from the district capital. There is the need for periodic sensitization and education of farmers to encourage participation in the PFJ programme for improved yield and profitability.

Keywords:

• maize
• yield
• profitability
• propensity score matching
• agriculture
• participation

JEL Classification:

• C21
• Q12
• Q55, R58

Public Interest Statement

The local maize industry in Ghana has experienced several initiatives and interventions aimed at improvement from successive governments and donor partners. However, it is not enough to establish maize processing industries alone, since improvement in maize yield is crucial to reducing reliance on imports. To achieve this, the Ghanaian Government introduced the PFJ programme in 2017, with the goal of improving food security, employment, and reducing imports. However, low participation rates in the programme have been noted due to difficulty in accessing agricultural resources, including improved seed, fertilizer, market, and extension services. The study used data from 400 maize farmers in Ghana to evaluate the impact of the PFJ programme on yield and profitability. The research revealed that participants had higher gross profits compared to non-participants. The causal effect of participation was found to be positive and significantly increased gross profit and yield among programme participants in Ghana.

Acknowledgments

The authors appreciate the effort and patience of all the farmers and extension agents in the study area.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in Data_set at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qaH10NXAuJNcO-EZTkO9Sh8zJO5qmNDt/view?usp=sharing.

Notes

1. Treatment group consist of the maize farmers who are members of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme in the district.

2. Control group consist of maize farmers who are not members of the PFJ programme in the district.

Additional information

Funding

There was no funding for this study.

Notes on contributors

Stephen Prah

Stephen Prah is an MPhil student in Agricultural Economics at KNUST. Certified in Rainforest Alliance, Food Safety, Fairtrade, and Organic Farming. National Tutor at Greening Africa Together – Ghana, and Agronomist at Holland Greentech.

Bright O. Asante

Bright Owusu Asante, a Senior Lecturer, Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, KNUST, Kumasi. His research focusses on agricultural economics, agribusiness, food security and development economics.

Robert Aidoo

Robert Aidoo is an Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, KNUST, Kumasi. He has conducted various studies in the agricultural/agribusiness sector over the past 20 years.

James O. Mensah

Osei Mensah James is an Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension of KNUST, Kumasi, specializes in agricultural value chains, food and consumer economics, entrepreneurship, TQM and agricultural project evaluation.

Fred Nimoh

Fred Nimoh is an Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, KNUST, Kumasi. His research works include production economics, food and consumer economics, and development economics.