Economic Analysis of Inclusive and Sustainable Business Models for Smallholder Vegetable Farmers in the Eastern Region of Ghana

Abstract

The essence of this study was to examine inclusive business models that could promote the adoption of new technologies among smallholder vegetable farmers in the Denkyembour District in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Data collection for the study was done through the administering of a structured questionnaire. Census was carried out on 150 smallholder vegetable farmers who were beneficiaries of the project titled: Building vegetable farmers' resilience to climate change. Descriptive statistics, gross margin analysis, stochastic profit frontier efficiency model, correlation, and binary logistic regression were used in analyzing the data. Findings from the study indicated that farmers who cultivated both okra and garden eggs had a gross margin of (83.23%) and were found to be more profitable than only okra farmers and only garden egg farmers. With the mean profit efficiency value of (93%), only okra farmers were found to be more profit efficient than the other vegetable-farmer categories. The results also showed that smallholder vegetable farmers had high competencies in Vegetable Production Management Practices (VPMPs) with moderate knowledge, high attitude, high skills, and high aspirations. Direct Farming was the existing Business Model type commonly practiced by the majority of farmers as a result of insufficient knowledge of farmers on inclusive business models (IBM). Farmers’ choice of business model types was influenced by: age, level of education, main occupation, the use of irrigation facility, farmer group, number of times of accessing extension services, knowledge and attitude in VPMPs, and their awareness of IBM. The study proposed that smallholder vegetable farmers in the study area could extremely do well in an improved vegetable value chain model situated in an enabling regulatory framework with a financial mechanism. The study recommended that MOFA and other stakeholders in agriculture should educate smallholder farmers on the relevance of IBM in the vegetable industry, help to link them to other vegetable value chain actorsd regulate the contractual agreement between the farmers and their partners to minimize cheating or fraud in the value chain.