The Effects of Participation in Smallholder Irrigated Agriculture on Livelihoods in the Bawku Area of Ghana

Abstract

Irrigation is one of the key strategies for agricultural transformation and commercialization processes in Ghana and elsewhere in the developing world. This is because irrigation provides opportunity for extended agricultural production, particularly in areas characterized by short duration and low intensity rainfall regimes. Thus, irrigation provides a unique opportunity for the poor, who are mostly smallholder farmers to urge themselves out of poverty. In order to enhance and sustain the benefits from irrigation, there is the need for careful and rigorous study to understand the socio-economic underpinnings of irrigation participation. This paper sought to investigate the factors that influence participation in irrigated agriculture and its effects on livelihoods. The method of analysis involved an estimation of treatment effect model. The study relied mainly on primary data collected from 304 respondents randomly sampled across four irrigating communities in the Bawku West District of Ghana. The empirical results show that age, marital status, market availability, extension contact and farm size significantly influence farmers’ decision to participate in irrigated agriculture. Participation in irrigation positively affects livelihoods development. However, the benefits of irrigation are likely to be offset by large household sizes, source of water for irrigation and education. The study recommends that farmers must be assisted with improved technologies in irrigated agriculture supported by gender sensitive extension services to ensure effective technology use. There is also the need for improved access to markets.