Ola Hall
Universitetslektor, prefekt
A bird's eye-view of smallholder productivity : Current measurement shortfalls, farmer perceptions and rationality on rainfed family farms in Ghana
Författare
Summary, in English
Through this thesis, I aim to augment our present understanding of crop productivity levels on smallholder family farms. I do this by showing the limitations of current methods of yield measurement, analysing the factors contributing to current yield levels and variability, as well as analysing farmers’ perspectives on their current productivity levels. Using a multidisciplinary framework, I employ a mixed methods approach to analyse data from field and household surveys as well as aerial photographs and photo-elicitation interviews. For inspiration, I also draw on a number of theories; Boserup’s theory on agricultural intensification in the face of population growth and Chayanov’s theory of the smallholder economy help provide the frame for the thesis. The more practical induced innovation model of agricultural development and the sustainable livelihood approach help provide the bridge to the empirical work.
The thesis comprises four articles, which are preceded by a kappa. I argue that current measurement approaches do not adequately capture the dynamism of smallholder farms and that the use of new remote sensing tools as employed in this work could be critical to improving the reliability of agricultural statistics in such complex farming systems. I also argue that the factors contributing to current yield levels are varied and inconsistent across yield measures and villages even in the same agroecological regions. I further argue that while management activities such as the timing of planting and quantity of fertilizer applied are important immediate determinants of yield levels, they are often underpinned by some socioeconomic factors relating to labour and land tenure dynamics. The thesis further establishes that, by and large, farmers are content with current productivity levels and this attitude is rationally based on their experience and knowledge of poorly functioning agricultural inputs and outputs market. These findings have significant implications for the future of these small farms in terms of their own survival as well as their ability to continue to play critical roles in the economies of developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Avdelning/ar
- Institutionen för kulturgeografi och ekonomisk geografi
Publiceringsår
2020-10-08
Språk
Engelska
Fulltext
Dokumenttyp
Doktorsavhandling
Förlag
Lund University
Ämne
- Agricultural Science, Forestry and Fisheries
Nyckelord
- Smallholder productivity
- measurement shortfalls
- maize yield levels
- aerial photos
- farmer attitudes
- Ghana
Status
Published
Handledare
- Ola Hall
- Magnus Jirström
ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt
- ISBN: 978-91-7895-564-0
- ISBN: 978-91-7895-565-7
Försvarsdatum
8 oktober 2020
Försvarstid
10:00
Försvarsplats
Rio alternativt Världen, Geocentrum I, Sölvegatan 10, Lund
Opponent
- Jordan Chamberlin (Dr.)