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The study looks into maize farmers’ perceptions of being financially included through mobile money services. The available data collected was analysed through the perception index by the SPSS. Data were collected through the primary data which 150 questionnaires were used and respondents’ responses were collected on the questionnaire administration. perception of the maize farmers was analysed and based on the series of questions through frequency, mean and percentages from the perception index, which came out that 47.3% were very familiar and 36.7% were familiar with mobile money as a financial inclusion which shows mobile money has become very important in the system and as financial inclusion in some African countries and Ghana as a whole. However, respondents stated the fact that they use mobile money for saving and paying bills with a percentage of 96%. To further conclude the maize farmers said the mobile money concept has increased their access to financial services with 28.0% strongly agreeing to the fact that it has increased their chances to have financial services, 33.3% agreed, 28.7 were neutral to the statement, 6.7% were also disagreeing and 3.3% strongly disagreed. The outcome has affirmed that mobile money has increased access to maize farmers’ financial inclusion.

The purpose of this study was to assess the factors affecting farmers’ awareness of and willingness to pay for crop insurance in Tolon District of Ghana. The study was guided by the following objectives: (1) to determine farmers’ level of awareness of crop insurance, (2) to analyse the factors affecting awareness of crop insurance and (3) to identify the factors that affect willingness to pay for crop insurance. Data was collected from 150 respondents from three farming communities in the Tolon District. Questionnaires were used as instruments for data collection. The computer software package STATA version 15 was used to analyse the quantitative data. Farmers’ level of awareness of crop insurance was described descriptively while an endogenous treatment effect model was used to analyse the factors affecting awareness and willingness to pay. The result indicated that 48% of the respondents were aware of crop insurance. The results showed that sex of the farmer, extension training and adoption of good agriculture practices were significant factors affecting awareness of crop insurance. Also, willingness to pay for crop insurance was influenced by household size, years of farming experience, farm size and respondent’s awareness of crop insurance. The study concluded that increasing awareness of crop insurance is an effective way to enhance farmers’ willingness to pay. Hence, any intervention to promote adoption of crop insurance should target awareness campaign in order to increase the level of awareness especially among male farmers.

The fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) invaded India for the first time in May 2018 in Karnataka and since then has threatened maize production in the country. In this study conducted during 2017–2020, a total of 150 smallholder maize farms were randomly selected and surveyed from three major maize-growing districts in Karnataka for the pesticide usage patterns, pesticide cost and yield. During 2020, FAW infestation level was recorded at 2.15 larvae per 100 plants with an overall Davis damage score of 3.80. Maize farmers used on an average 2.12 pesticide sprays per season for FAW management in the surveyed districts in 2020. Maize yield was 4.46, 3.76, 4.06 and 4.18 tonnes per hectare in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 respectively, and the average cost on pesticides spent by farmers per 100 kg maize grain during the same years was US$ 0.124, US$ 2.04, US$ 1.68 and US$ 1.39 respectively. The study highlights the effect of FAW invasion on pest management regime in the maize crops of Karnataka. Integrated pest management is the need of the hour to reduce the environmental impact of synthetic pesticides use and to protect the incomes and livelihood of the smallholders.

Although policy and advisory communities have promoted the use of digital advisory services (DAS) to stimulate technology adoption among smallholder farmers, little is known about whether DAS use encourages farmers to adopt climate-smart agricultural (CSA) technologies. This study addresses the gap by estimating data collected from 3197 maize-producing households in rural Ghana and considering three CSA technologies: row planting, zero tillage, and drought-tolerant seeds. A recursive bivariate probit model is utilized to mitigate selection bias issues. The results show that DAS use significantly increases the probabilities of adopting row planting, zero tillage, and drought-tolerant seeds by 12.4%, 4.2%, and 4.6%, respectively. Maize farmers’ decisions to use DAS are influenced by their age, gender, education, family size, asset value, distance to farm, perceived incidence of pest and disease, perceived drought stress, and membership in farmer-based organizations (FBO). Furthermore, the disaggregated analysis reveals that DAS use has a larger impact on the row planting adoption of female farmers than males.

Even though copious knowledge has been advanced in the extant literature on climate variability and change. Two schools of thought exist-one that views farmers' perceptions of climate indicators as erroneous and inferior, while the other views, scientific data, specifically meteorological data, to be superior and accurate. The accuracy of farmers perception of climate variability indicators is in doubt relative to the scientific data. This article targets assessing farmers perception of climate variability indicators compared to the scientific data with an eye to distil policy implications for climate variability resilience and adaptation. Using cross-sectional data on 197 smallholder maize farmers in southern Ghana, the article answers the research question: To what extent do smallholder farmers perception of climate variability indicators align or vary from objective climate data? We find variation between farmers perception of climate indicators and the objective data from the Ghana Meteorological Agency. Specifically, while farmer perceptions showed a decrease in rainfall over the past 10 years (2009-2018), the objective data proved otherwise. Again, a contradiction existed between farmers perception of sunshine and the scientific data. However, farmers' perceptions of temperature aligned with the objective data. The scientific data established coefficient of variations of 0.21, 0.04, 0.03, and 0.12 for rainfall, sunshine, maximum, and minimum temperatures respectively. We recommend collaborative efforts between the national research council's, Ghana Meteorological Agency, and academic institutions to commission further studies that will test, confirm, and harmonize the reliability of smallholder perceptions of climate variability and change in climate adaptation efforts.

In recent years, maize production in South Africa has faced challenges related to climate change which have prompted farmers to adapt their production activities. We assessed factors informing the adaptive decision-making of maize farmers in the Vaal catchment by examining linkages between farmers’ experiences, their perceptions of climate change and the adaptation strategies they use. Data were collected through semi-structured household-level interviews, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Catchment climate data were also collected to determine key 30 yr trends (1989-2018) and the farmers’ level of awareness about these trends. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Mann-Kendall (MK) test, Sen’s slope test, climate anomalies and multinomial logit modelling. Results suggest that maize farmers in the catchment are aware of climate change (95%), with many of them referring to it as ‘a shift in climate’. This perceived ‘shift’ is supported by meteorological data, as the MK test confirmed a decreasing inter-annual precipitation trend (-0.149) and a decreasing trend at the onset of the maize planting season (-0.167), with temperature showing an increasing trend (0.470). These trends have inspired the adoption of a range of timing-related responses and other farming and off-farm adaptations. Modelling results revealed farmer perception, farmer typology and the nature of maize production (rainfed) as some of the variables with a deciding influence on the nature of the adaptation employed. The study confirms the importance of understanding intersections between qualitative and quantitative variables in triggering adaptive responses. Current strategies need to be expanded and supplemented to improve resilience and prevent maladaptation.

Maize is a staple food and one of the important sources of starch for many households. However, maize yield in Nigeria remains one of the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa. Providing agricultural credit to farmers cannot be disregarded because it has a significant impact on maize productivity. As a result of this capital investment through social capital networks is needed to improve maize productivity. This study investigated the impact of participation in social capital networks on the technical efficiency of maize producers in Southwestern Nigeria. The multistage sampling procedure was to select about 300 respondents for the study. The data were analysed using Hurdle Negative Binomial (HNB) and Endogeneity Stochastic Frontier models. According to the first hurdle result, the decision to join social capital networks is significantly influenced by age, age square, household size, gender, and access to credit. According to the second hurdle results, the level of participation in social capital networks is significantly influenced by age, age squared, household size, experience, gender, and access to credit. The Endogeneity Stochastic frontier model shows that the average technical efficiency of 65% in maize production. Maize seed, fertilizer, agrochemicals, labour, and farm size influence the technical efficiency of maize farmers. However, participation in social capital networks, as well as socioeconomic characteristics of the farmers including household size, years of education, years of experience, and extension contact, are the sources of technical inefficiencies in maize production. The study concludes that participation in social capital networks has a positive and significant effect on the technical efficiency of maize farmers. This study recommends that agricultural programmes targeted at efficient maize production should consider maize farmers participating in social groups. Therefore, more social capital networks should be established and participation of maize farmers in the social capital networks should be encouraged to access social capital and improve their production.

Food insecurity and poverty persist in Sub-Saharan Africa, largely driven by low agricultural productivity linked to limited credit access. This study investigates the effect of credit access on the productivity of smallholder maize farmers in Northwest Cameroon. Using cross-sectional data from 404 interviews and an endogenous switching regression model to address self-selection bias and unobserved heterogeneity, we show that access to credit significantly improves maize yields. However, credit access remains limited and is negatively influenced by farmer experience and group membership, while extension services and agricultural training enhance access. We recommend targeted financial support and capacity building to improve credit uptake and boost productivity in the maize sector.

Since its discovery in Ghana, the fall armyworm (FAW) has damaged maize farms resulting in yield losses. This study investigated farmers' knowledge, practices and impact of the pest in a major maize growing municipality in Ghana. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain information from 200 randomly sampled farmers on their knowledge, practices, perceived effect and management of the FAW. FAW susceptibility to insecticides was also assessed. Although insecticide application was dominant (98%) and farmers experienced adverse health effects, application frequency and the resulting effects were not significantly related (p > 0.05). Usage of personal protective equipment (PPE) was low (45.7%) and only 2% of the farmers used complete PPE. Gender correlated positively with PPE usage with more females wearing PPE compared to males. Age, farming experience, education and farm size did not significantly impact on PPE usage. The FAW outbreak negatively affected farmers' relationships (36.5%) and caused economic loss to many farmers (80%). FAW was susceptible to emamectin benzoate (1.9% w/v) and emamectin benzoate (48 g/L) + acetamiprid (64 g/L) but not Bacillus thuringiensis (55%) + monosultap (45%) under laboratory conditions. The findings and implications of the study on farmer safety and sustainable pest management are discussed.