Factors Influencing Rural Livelihood Diversification Activities among Women in Northern Region of Ghana

محورهای موضوعی : Rural Woman Education

Hamza Adam ¹ , Henny Osbahr ²

1 - Department of Agricultural Extension, Rural Development & Gender Studies, University for Development Studies, Ghana
2 - School of Agriculture, Policy & Development, University of Reading, UK

تاریخ دریافت : 1397/11/23 تاریخ پذیرش : 1398/03/09 تاریخ انتشار : 1398/06/10

کلید واژه: Women, Diversification, Household, Ghana, Rural Livelihoods,

چکیده مقاله :

Livelihood sustainability remains a major challenge for rural households in Northern Ghana. Although farming has traditionally been the core livelihood strategy for most households, diversifying into non-farm activities remains a common livelihood strategy employed to sustain household basic needs, particularly for women, who because of their gender often face challenges in accessing land for farming purposes. There remains a dearth in knowledge regarding understanding fully the factors, which influence livelihood diversification activities women in Ghana. The paper uses a Probit model to examine the factors that influence livelihood diversification activities, using cross-sectional data from households in Northern Ghana. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 260 households for investigation. Data were collected by use of survey questionnaire and analysed using Probit model with livelihood diversification being the dependent variable. The findings showed that age, household size, formal education, group membership, participation in training, participation in decision-making, resource access and level of household poverty to influence women’s participation in livelihood diversification. The results suggest that policy to improve women’s participation in decision-making and provide support to women non-farm livelihood groups in the form of training, credit and markets, which will be vital to enhancing livelihood and reducing poverty in Northern Ghana.

منابع و مأخذ:

1. Abdulai, A. & Delgado, C.L., (1999). Determinants of nonfarm earnings of farm-based husbands and wives in northern Ghana. Am. J. Agric. Econ. 81, 117 – 130.


2. Abujaja, M., Adam, H & Zakaria, H. (2013). Effects of Development Interventions on the Productivity and Profitability of Women Shea Butter Processors in the West Gonja District of Northern Ghana. Asian Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development, 3(10): 914-923.


3. Adam, H., Atengdem, P. B., Al-Hassan, S. (2010). Innovations Adoption Levels of Small Ruminants in Ghana. Ghana Journal of Development Studies. 7(2): 30-46.


4. Adam, H.& Seth, B. (2012): Adoption of Innovations by Small Ruminant Farmers in Northern Ghana: The case study of Tolon-Kumbungu District. Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Healthcare. Vol 2, No.11. ISSN 2224-3208


5. Adam, H., Zakaria, H. & Abujaja, M. A. (2014). Sociocultural implications on innovation adoption: the case of adoption of yam minisett technology among farmers in Northern Region, Ghana. Journal of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development, 1(7): 105-113


6. Adesina A.A., Mbila D., Nkamleu G.B. & Endamana D. (2001). Econometric analysis of the determinants of adoption of alley farming by farmers in the forest zone of southwest Cameroon. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 80:255-265.


7. Agarwal, B. (2010). Does women’s proportional strength affect their participation? Governing local forests in South Asia. World development 38(1): 98–112.


8. Alderman, H. and Paxson, C. (1992). Do the Poor Insure? A Synthesis of the Literature on Risk and Consumption in Developing Countries, Poliq Research Working Papers, (1008), Washington DC: World Bank


9. Al-hassan, R. & Poulton, C. (2009). Agriculture and Social Protection in Ghana. FAC Working Paper, No. SP04, January.

10. Aphane, M., Dzivakwa, R. & Jacobs, P. (2010). Livelihood Strategies of Rural Women in Eastern Cape and Limpopo, Agenda: Empowering Women for Gender Equity, 24:84, 66-74.

11. Apusigah, A. (2009). The Gendered Politics of Farm Household Production and the Shaping of Women’s Livelihoods in northern Ghana. Feminist Africa (12): 51-62.

12. Asmah, E., E. (2011). Rural Livelihood Diversification and Agriculture Sector Reforms in Ghana. Paper presented at the 2011 Centre for the Studies of African Economies Annual Conference on Economic Development in Africa, Oxford, UK, March. www.csae.ox.ac.uk/conferences/2011-EDiA/papers/510-Asmah.pdf.

13. Awumbila, M. (2006). Gender equality and poverty in Ghana: implication for poverty reduction strategies.  67:2, 149-161. Geojournal, 67(2): 149-161.

14. Barrett, C.B., Reardon, T. & Webb, P (2001). Nonfarm Income Diversification and Household Livelihood Strategies in Rural Africa: Concepts, Dynamics, and Policy Implications. Food Policy 26 (4): 315-331.

15. Bryceson, D.F. (1996). Deagrarianization and rural employment in sub-Saharan Africa: A sectoralperspective. World Development 24 (1): 97–111.

16. Bryceson, D.F. (2009). Sub-Saharan Africa’s Vanishing Peasantries and the Specter of a Global Food Crisis. Monthly review. http://monthlyreview.org/090720bryceson.php. Cited on 11/08/2012.

17. Canagarajah, S., Newman, C., & Bhattamishra, R. (2001). Non-farm income, gender, and inequality: evidence from rural Ghana and Uganda. Food Policy, 26(4):405–420.

18. Davis, J.R. & Bezemer, D.J. (2004). The Development of Rural Non-farm Economy in Developing Countries and Transition Economies: Key Emerging Conceptual Issues. Natural Resource Institute. Chatham, UK. ISBN: 0859545571. Pp 19-23

19. Dercon, S. (2008). Rural Poverty: Old Challenges in New Contexts. University of Oxford. An ESRC Research Group.

20. DFID (1999). DFID sustainable livelihoods guidance sheets. UK

21. Dzanku, F. M. (2009). Land Rihgts, Sustainable Natural Resource Use and Agricultural Productivity in Ghana. Technical Publication Series No. 85. ISSER, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.

22. Ellis, F. (1998). Household Strategies and Rural Livelihoods Diversification Journal of Development Studies, 35(1): 1-38.

23. Fafchamps, M., and Minten, B. (1998). Relationships and Traders in Madagascar, IFPRI-MSSD DiscussionPaper no 24, IFPRI, Washington DC

24. Greene, W.H. (2003) Econometric Analysis. New Jersey-U.S.A: Prentice Hall Griffin, 736-    740.

25. GSS (2008). Ghana living standards survey: Report of the fifth round (GLSS 5). Technical report, Ghana Statistical Service, Accra, Ghana.

26. GSS (2011). Ghana's Economic Performance 2010. Ghana Statistical Service, Accra, Ghana.

27. Hilson, G. (2010). Once a mianor, always a minor: Poverty and Livelihood diversification in Akwatia, Ghana. Journal of Rural Studies 26 (10): 296-307.

28. Hilson, G., & Garforth, C. (2012). 'Agricultural poverty' and the expansion of artisal mining in Sub-Saharan Africa: Experiences from Southwest Mali and Southeast Ghana. Research and Policy Review, 31(2): 15-26.

29. Jackson, C. & Rao, N. (2008) Gender inequality and agrarian change in liberalizing India The Gendered Impacts of Liberalization. Razavi, S. (ed.). UK: Routledge, 374 p. (Routledge/UNRISD Research in Gender and Development series)

30. Kunfaa, E.Y. (1999). Consultations with the poor Ghana: a study to inform the World Development Report 2000/1on poverty and Development, The World Bank, Washington DC.

31. Neihof, A. (2004). The Significance of Diversification for Rural Livelihood Systems. Food Policy 29: 321-338.

32. Parveen, S. (2008). Access of rural women to productive resources in Bangladesh: A pillar for promoting their empowerment. International Journal of Rural Studies. ISSN 1023-2001. Vol. 15, No. 1

33. Rahman, S. (2007). Adoption of improved technologies by pig farmers of Aizawl district of Mizoran, India. Department of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Extension, College of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, Central Agriculture University, Selesih, Aizawl, Mizoram.

34. Reardon, T., Crawford, E., & Kelly, V. (1994). Links between nonfarm income and farm investment in African Households: adding the capital market perspective. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 76(5): 1172-1176.

35. Reardon, T. (1997). "Using Evidence of Household Income Diversification to Inform Study of the Rural Nonfarm Labor Market in Africa," World Development, 25 (5): 735-748.

36. Reardon, T., J. E Taylor, K. Stamoulis, P. Lanjouw, A. Balisacan. (2000). Effects of Non-Farm employment on Rural Income Inequality in Developing Countries: An Investment Perspective. Journal ofAgricultura1 Economics. 51(2): 266-288.

37. Reardon, T., C. Delgado, and P. Matlon. (1992). Determinants and effects of income diversification amongst farm households in Burkina Faso. Journal of Development Studies, 28 (1): 264-296.

38. Ribot, J. C. & Peluso, N. L. (2003). A Theory of Access. Rural Sociology, 68(2): 153-181.

39. Sahn, D.E. & Alderman, H. (1988). The effects of Human Capital and Wages, and Determinants of Labour Supply in a Developing Country. Journal of Development Economics 29. 157-183.

40. Seebens, H. (2011). Intra-household bargaining, gender roles in agriculture and how to promote welfare enhancing changes. ESA Working paper No. 11-10, March 2011. FAO.

41. Scoones, I. (1998). Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: A Framework for Analysis, IDS Working Paper No.72, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, June.

42. Stifel, D. (2010). The Rural Non-farm Economy, Livelihood Strategies and Household Welfare. African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 4 (1): 1-28.

43. Tacoli, C. (2003). The links between urban and rural development. Environment & Urbanization Vol 15, No 1. SAGE

44. UNDP (2012) Achieving the MDGS with Equity in Ghana: Unmasking the Issues behind the Averages. A Technical Paper November 2012.

45. Vepa, S. (2005). Feminization of Agriculture and Marginalization of their Economic Stake. Economist and Political Weekly, 40 (25): 2563-8.

46. Yaro, J., A. (2004). Theorising Food Insecurity: Building a Livelihood Vulnerability Framework for Researching Food Insecurity. Norwegian Journal of Geography, 58, 23-37.