The perceived effectiveness of agricultural technology transfer methods: Evidence from rice farmers in Northern Ghana

This study examined the effectiveness of various agricultural technology transfer methods using primary data collected from 543 rice farmers in the Northern and Upper East regions of Ghana. We employed descriptive statistics supported by Kendall's W-test and chi-squared distribution test to ide...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cogent food & agriculture 2018, Vol.4 (1), p.1503798
Main Authors: Azumah, Shaibu Baanni, Donkoh, Samuel A., Awuni, Joseph A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural economics
Agricultural practices
Agricultural technology
agriculture technology
Cell phones
Cellular telephones
Data transfer (computers)
extension methods
Farmers
Identification methods
Information technology
Mass media
News media
Northern Ghana
perception
Rice
rice farmers
Statistical tests
Technology adoption
Technology assessment
Technology transfer
Technology utilization
Video communication
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Summary:This study examined the effectiveness of various agricultural technology transfer methods using primary data collected from 543 rice farmers in the Northern and Upper East regions of Ghana. We employed descriptive statistics supported by Kendall's W-test and chi-squared distribution test to identify and assess various agricultural technology transfer methods and their perceived effectiveness. In the order of importance, we found farmer-to-farmer approach, technology demonstration fields, household extension, and radio as the main agricultural extension methods in use in the study area. We found a significantly low patronage of the mass media and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) mechanisms such as video, mobile phone, posters, drama, and newspapers for communicating information to rice farmers. Demonstration, farmer-to-farmer, and household extension methods were perceived as the most effective agricultural extension methods. We recommend among others, that Ministry of Food and Agriculture of Ghana should be empowered to train farmers through both conventional (i.e. demonstration fields), and technology-led approaches using ICT and mass media such as video, mobile phones, and radio, since these methods have been found to be cost effective with significant impact on agricultural technology adoption decisions of farmers.
ISSN:2331-1932
2331-1932
DOI:10.1080/23311932.2018.1503798