Impact of sustainable rainfed lowland rice development project on the livelihoods of small-scale rice farmers in the Ashanti and Northern Regions of Ghana

Abstract

The Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, collaborated with the Japan International Cooperation Agency in the Sustainable Development of Rainfed Lowland Rice Production project to meet the increasing demand for rice and improve the livelihood of smallholder farmers in the Northern and Ashanti regions of Ghana. However, no formal studies have been conducted to determine the impact of the project on the livelihoods of farmers. The study used a cross-sectional convergent mixed method to collect data from 331 farmers, 12 AEAs, national MoFA staff and two regional Department of Agriculture staff. A structured interview schedule, document review, interview and focus group guides were used to collect the data. Statistics such as means, standard deviations, frequencies, and percentages were used to describe the data while Pearson Product Moment correlation, dependent sample t-test, Chi-square test and Ordinary Least Squares multiple regression were used to find relations or differences in the data. The study revealed that the farmers perceived the SDRLRP project to be highly effective. The adoption of technologies in both regions was very high, but higher in Northern Region compared to the Ashanti Region. The income status and livelihood of the majority of the farmers improved after participating in the project. The educational status, farming experience, participation, perceived effectiveness, knowledge and skills influenced the livelihood outcomes of the farmers in the project. The study recommends that MoFA should implement more agricultural technology training programmes to improve the livelihoods of farmers and use the existing rice farmer groups as trainers to reach other rice farmers in Ghana.