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The effect of smallholder livestock production on income of farm households in Northern Ghana

Author

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  • Baidoo, Samuel Tawiah
  • Yusif, Hadrat
  • Anwar, Umar

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of smallholder livestock production on income among farm households in northern Ghana. Questionnaires were administered to 300 household heads and ordinary least squares estimation technique was applied to the dataset. The dependent variable was income and measured by total annual income received from farm and non-farm activities by household heads. The independent variable of interest was tropical livestock unit measured by flock size. We also included farm size, household size, gender, age, educational level, distance to market, dependency ratio and access to formal credit as control variables. We found that smallholder livestock production and farm size increase income whilst distance to market and dependency ratio reduce income. Based on evidence of the positive relationship between livestock pro-duction and household income in this paper, it is recommended that policies to promote smallholder livestock production should be embarked upon to increase income. This is likely to improve livelihood and reduce poverty among the poor rural folks in the northern regions of Ghana.

Suggested Citation

  • Baidoo, Samuel Tawiah & Yusif, Hadrat & Anwar, Umar, 2016. "The effect of smallholder livestock production on income of farm households in Northern Ghana," MPRA Paper 90803, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:90803
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alfred Nzabakenga & Luo Xiao Feng & He Yaqin, 2013. "Agricultural Income Determinants among Smallholder Farmers: Case of Northern Part of Burundi," Asian Journal of Agriculture and rural Development, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 3(11), pages 780-787, November.
    2. Guang Guo & Kathleen Harris, 2000. "The mechanisms mediating the effects of poverty on children’s intellectual development," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 37(4), pages 431-447, November.
    3. Assa, Maganga, 2012. "Poultry production and rural poverty among small-scale farmers in Mzimba District of Malawi," MPRA Paper 43964, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Sep 2012.
    4. Chamberlin, Jordan, 2007. "Defining smallholder agriculture in Ghana: Who are smallholders, what do they do and how are they linked with markets?," GSSP working papers 6, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    5. Alfred Nzabakenga & Luo Xiao Feng & He Yaqin, 2013. "Agricultural Income Determinants among Smallholder Farmers: Case of Northern Part of Burundi," Asian Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 3(11), pages 780-787.
    6. Shaohua Chen & Martin Ravallion, 2010. "The Developing World is Poorer than We Thought, But No Less Successful in the Fight Against Poverty," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(4), pages 1577-1625.
    7. Nzabakenga, Alfred & Feng, Luo Xiao & Yaqin, He, 2013. "Agricultural Income Determinants among Smallholder Farmers: Case of Northern Part of Burundi," Asian Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development, Asian Economic and Social Society (AESS), vol. 3(11), pages 1-8, November.
    8. Kafle, Kashi R., "undated". "Is There More than Milk? The Impact of Heifer International’s Livestock Donation Program on Rural Livelihoods: Preliminary Findings from a Field Experiment in Zambia," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 170629, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Akter, Shaheen, 2011. "Livestock based livelihoods and pathways out of poverty: the case of smallholder farmers in Bangladesh," 85th Annual Conference, April 18-20, 2011, Warwick University, Coventry, UK 108935, Agricultural Economics Society.
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    Cited by:

    1. John M. Kandulu & Alec Zuo & Sarah Wheeler & Theogene Dusingizimana & Mizeck G. G. Chagunda, 2024. "Influence of climate-smart technologies on the success of livestock donation programs for smallholder farmers in Rwanda," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 1-27, March.
    2. Nadeem Ul Haque & Faheem Jehangir Khan (ed.), 2025. "RASTA: Local Research, Local Solutions: Business and Markets, Volume Xi," PIDE Books, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, number 2025:01.
    3. Diedong, Joshua & Anang, Benjamin Tetteh & Danso-Abbeam, Gideon, 2024. "Welfare effect of rice outgrower scheme participation: empirical evidence from northern Ghana," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 36(C).

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • Q10 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - General
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets

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