Indigenous Food Crop Production and Extent Decisions among Farm Households in Northern Ghana

Crop production diversification into indigenous and neglected food crops could result in increased access by farm households to diverse food nutrients. This paper identifies the determinants of the decisions by farm households in northern Ghana to produce indigenous food crops using a double hurdle model estimation technique. The data show that producer households are relatively larger, with more young children and adult women than non-producer households. Producer households have larger farms that are dispersed in different locations, and are farther away from market centres compared to non-producer households. Decisions on crop choice and farm income utilization are made by women or jointly with men in producer households compared to their non-producer counterparts. Econometric results show that women’s utilization of crop income, farm size, being aware of the nutritional importance of indigenous crops, participation in food security projects, access to credit and distance to a market place significantly influence households decisions to produce indigenous food crops. Also, women’s utilization of crop income, farm size, having multiple land parcels, household size and having a bicycle tend to increase the diversity of neglected/underutilized crops while education, having more children and adult women constrain indigenous crop production diversity. The study recommends, for promoting the production of indigenous crops, strategies including provision of credit, empowerment of women, targeting distant communities relative to market centres and raising awareness about the nutritional relevance of indigenous food crops.