Building climate resilience through crop residue utilization: Experiences of Ghanaian smallholder farmers
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Date
2023
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wileyonlinelibrary.com
Abstract
Amajor limiting factor affecting the uptake of conservation agriculture practices
in smallholder farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa is the limited availability
of sufficient crop residues for use as surface mulch. This paper assesses the
trade-offs in crop residue utilization among smallholder farmers and its implications
for soil management in the face of climate change risks in northern Ghana.
The paper triangulated data from 350 household surveys with participatory key
informant interviews fromseven selected communities in three districts of northern
Ghana. The problem confrontation index (PCI) was adopted to identify and
rank the challenges associated with farmers’ decision to use crop residues, while
a multivariate probit model was used to analyse and predict the factors that
influence farmers’ choice of crop residue management practices. Results showed
that crop residues were used as cooking fuel in households (21%), livestock feed
(21%), left on the farm to decompose as mulch (34%) or burned to clear the
land (24%). Key challenges identified included high labour cost (PCI = 404),
high labour intensity (PCI = 388), the cost and transport for collection and storage
of externally sourced crop residue (PCI = 383) and the low benefit from
crop residue to farm output/soil fertility (PCI = 339). Results from the multivariate
probit model revealed that household and farm variables, institutional
and socio-psychological factors, and experience of some climate shocks all influence
farmers’ choice of crop residue management practices.Crop residue use and
management practices adopted were determined by factors including the crops
being grown, challenges faced by farmers and the management options available.
The study recommends the need for the Government of Ghana to empower
farmers through the provision of technical knowledge and machinery for the
sustainable utilization of crop residues due to the high labour intensity and cost
associated with such practices.
Description
This article is published by wileyonlinelibrary.com and is also available at https://doi.org/10.1002/cli2.55.
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Citation
https://doi.org/10.1002/cli2.55