Browsing by Author "Cobbinah, Francis Dontoh"

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    Agroforestry adoption by small-scale farmers: a case study of Pioneer Tobacco Company’s Agroforestry Programme
    (1996) Cobbinah, Francis Dontoh
    Access to and control of resources by households affect their interest in and adoption of effective land use technologies which may enhance natural resource development and expansion of household’s production capacities. The analysis of the resource base of households, thus, becomes imperative in an attempt to introduce any innovation to a group of people. In pursuit of this, the study has taken a close look at the acceptance and adoption of Pioneer Tobacco Company’s (PTC) Agroforestry programme being extended to the people in its operational area. This was done by using a questionnaire guide to interview sixty households randomly selected from each of four districts covered by the programme. The households selected were categorised into tree farmers and non-tree farmers or households. Simple statistical techniques including the use of Frequency Distribution Tables, Means, Standard Deviation and percentages were employed. The study revealed that interest in and adoption of the tree planting exercise was dependent on the objectives of households, principally food and cash and their control over resources such as land, labour, credit and managerial ability. On the whole, households which had planted or were planting trees owned almost all the land they cultivated or had access to vast tracts of land averaging 21 .76 acres, relatively high annual incomes of C41 1 ,670, large household size of about 1 2 members and more males than households which have not planted trees. Tree species cultivated include Leucaena leucocephala, Senna siamea, Anacardium occidentale and Gmellna arborea. The majority of farmers cultivating trees also grew tobacco which was purchased by PTC at reasonably high and stable prices. The predominant farming system was bush and grass fallowing. Farmers maintained about 3 different plots of land totalling about 3 acres. It was also found out that adoption rate had been quite high in the communities (53%) but relatively low among tobacco farmers (43%) and PTC was continuously sustaining the programme and making it more farmers centered by responding quickly and addressing the perceived needs of farmers including excessive weed growth.