Crop substitution behavior among food crop farmers in Ghana: an efficient adaptation to climate change or costly stagnation in traditional agricultural production system?
2014
Issahaku, Zakaria A | Maharjan, Keshav L
This study analyzes impact of climate change on yield, planting decisions and output of five major food crops (cassava, maize, sorghum, rice and yam) in Ghana. Results of Multivariate Tobit Model show that yield, planting decisions and output of cassava, maize, sorghum and rice will increase as a result of climate change. This is in clear contrast to the hypothesis that warming and drying will reduce crop yields in countries located within the tropics. Climate change impact on yields, planting decisions and output of yam is projected to be negative. Analysis of planting decisions indicates that climate change will stimulate farmers to allocate more land for cassava, maize, sorghum and rice cultivation. It is observed that farmers respond to positive impact of climate on yields of cassava, maize, sorghum and rice by reallocating more land for the cultivation of these crops, which is in line with neoclassical understanding of producer behavior. In contrast, farmers’ response to price rise does not display a consistent pattern. By and large, farmers respond weakly to price increases. This peculiar trait of food crop farmers can stifle the future development of the food crop subsector in Ghana.
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