Pineapple production plays a major role in Ghana, primarily via socioeconomic impacts and the export economy. The Ghana pineapple industry grew significantly from 1994 to 2004. Concurrently, it accounts for 40% of the total horticultural exports and is the most economically developed horticultural sector in the Ghanaian economy.
This article delves into the multifaceted world of pineapple farming in Ghana, examining the impact of climate change, the adoption of sustainable practices, and the importance of social learning among farmers. It explores how farmers are adapting to variable temperatures and rainfall patterns to sustain their livelihoods and contribute to the national economy.
The Impact of Climate Change on Pineapple Production
Climate variations have a considerable impact on crop production. Crop production, particularly rainfed, is sensitive to climate variability and change which mostly impact negatively on horticultural crop productivity. The most important climatic factors for pineapple production in Ghana are rainfall and temperature. Currently, most regions in Ghana already seasonally vary outside from optimal climatic conditions.
Key Findings:
- Temperature (minimum and maximum) in the study areas was increasing.
- Rainfall trends increased in all but Nsawam Adoagyiri district.
- Pineapple was particularly sensitive to minimum temperature as accounting for up to 82% of yield variability.
Predicted mean annual temperature is shown to increase in most regions of Ghana combined with increasing annual rainfall variability. It is predicted that these changes will continue and that extreme weather events resulting in floods and droughts will become more frequent and intense . This consequently would affect pineapple productivity in terms of quantity and quality and seriously challenge farmer’s investments and livelihood security.
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With continuously increasing stresses imposed by a changing climate, the sustainability of pineapple production in Ghana is challenged. This subsequently has detrimental impacts on national employment and exports capacity resulting in increased poverty.
The article aims at enhancing our understanding of pineapple production under current climate variability and offers evidence-based information to smallholder farmers relating pineapple sensitivity to climate variability in the future.
Adapting to Climatic Trends
To address these challenges, farmers are exploring various adaptation strategies. These include:
- Implementing irrigation systems to mitigate water stress during dry periods.
- Adopting soil conservation practices to prevent waterlogging and improve soil health.
- Selecting pineapple varieties that are more resilient to temperature variations.
These measures are crucial for ensuring the long-term viability of pineapple farming in the face of a changing climate.
Four strategies to adapt to a changing climate in Ghana's Upper West Region
Sustainable Intensification Practices
To foster the adoption of sustainable intensification practices amongst Ghana's farmers, they are widely promoted through training sessions provided by development organizations, companies, and the public extension service. We investigate whether these training sessions are effective and find that they are effective only for the diffusion of organic fertilizers but not for mulching.
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Mulching is one of the simplest sustainable intensification technologies. It diffuses easily through peer learning and, after an initial training delivered to a critical mass of farmers, does not require training anymore. The use of organic fertilizers, in contrast, requires more specific knowledge and adaptation, which limits the effectiveness of peer learning and increases the effectiveness of training.
This suggests that to achieve a widespread diffusion of sustainable intensification amongst Ghana's farmers, training sessions should focus on those practices that are complex and thus difficult to learn from peers.
The Role of Social Learning
Pineapple farmers are learning how to properly apply fertilizer by seeking advice from their friends. Duflo et. Magnan et. al (2015) among others). Therefore, rational farmers should have no reason to believe in the superiority of a new variety prior to adopting.
The modelling approach I’ve taken in my paper is to distinguish between learning “whether to” adopt a new crop from “how to” farm the new crop. Production knowledge requires costly learning effort. The decision to seek out production knowledge depends in large part on how costly it is to acquire, but also on whether one believes such a knowledge investment is worth the cognitive effort in the first place!
This framework allows me to conceive of two stages of learning: first, one determines whether the new variety is relatively profitable. Given the cost of acquiring production knowledge, farmers are more likely to seek out such knowledge from those they are comfortable interacting with regularly, such as a close friend.
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Learning from Adoption and Disadoption
A farmer who adopts a new crop variety and subsequently experiences consistently lower profits than expected will likely stop using (disadopt) the new variety. Chris Barrett (Cornell University) and Tom Walker (World Bank) collected data on the history of pineapple adoption and disadoption by the same households as the above study. The ability to distinguish relationship type in the data is a key means of distinguishing between the two objects of social learning in my model.
When it comes to belief dynamics, however, distant friends play a crucial role. Because close friends communicate beliefs on a year-to-year basis, their observable adoption or disadoption decisions are somewhat expected. As a result, the moment of adoption or disadoption does little to influence profitability beliefs. Distant acquaintances, on the other hand, are less likely to communicate regularly with one another.
In the left-hand panel, disadoption by distant friends decreases a given farmer’s adoption probability in any given year - a 10 percentage point increase (from zero percent) in the share of network disadopters is associated with a nearly 50% decrease in adoption probability. This effect is larger in magnitude than adoption by distant friends, suggesting that beliefs change more following network disadoption than adoption. The right-hand panel demonstrates that an increase in close friends with pineapple farming experience is associated with a 6% increase in adoption probability on average - this effect is not statistically significantly present among distant friends.
Implications for Extension Services
What do we gain from delineating two objects of social learning in this manner? First, cash-strapped extension delivery services are always looking for a bigger bang for their buck. Beaman et. al, 2015). However, the possibility of disadoption might induce us to ask whether social multipliers might work in the opposite direction - leading communities to a path-dependent state in which no one adopts a new variety because an early attempt failed.
Alternatively, we might consider the relationship between the innovation of new technologies and the capacity of communities to learn about new technologies. Griliches (1957) links the technology adoption problem with the technology innovation problem. the practice of experimentation are likely to be negatively correlated with learning costs.
WACOMP-Ghana's transformative role
Mechanization of our farms, introduced by UNIDO-WACOMP Ghana increased our production by 120% and we now sell our fruits directly to multinational fruit processors such as HPW, Blue Skies, Bomart, Agropal West Africa and Nanofood, known for processing fresh cut, canned and dry fruits for the export market.
WACOMP - Ghana linked our members to the international markets. The Union participated in the 2023 Fruit Logistica Fair in Berlin, Germany and has set up a partnership with KOBS farms, another WACOMP in Ghana beneficiary. We are currently providing fresh pineapples to KOBS farms, and they are exporting to the EU and Morocco.
The project also introduced the use of plastic mulch and GAPs, reducing the amount of fertilizer applied on the plant all year round from 10 to 6 rounds of liquid fertilizer. This has translated into 40% savings on fertilizer purchases.
Injaro's Investment in Agriculture
Injaro's goal is to boost agriculture in Africa, an overlooked and underfunded industry that is critical for the continent's future. Although Africa has rich natural resources and strong agricultural potential, it imports $35 billion of food each year even as its fast-growing population demands more.
Injaro raised an investment fund of $50 million from investors that include Soros Economic Development Fund; CDC, the private sector arm of U.K. aid agency DFID; AGRA, an agriculture nongovernmental organization backed by the Rockefeller Foundation; and others.
Parkes, chief executive of Injaro, is from Ghana, while co-founder and chief operating officer Dadié Tayoraud is from Ivory Coast. The two started Injaro in 2009, a few years after they graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton business school.
Gold Coast Fruits
Gold Coast Fruits is not yet profitable but is one of the area's largest employers, with about 200 workers. The company now expects up to 70 tons in future harvests. The improved productivity "has been very fantastic," says Serebour.
Conclusion
Pineapple farming in Ghana faces significant challenges from climate change, but with the right strategies and support, it can continue to thrive. By adopting sustainable practices, leveraging social learning, and investing in agricultural innovation, Ghanaian pineapple farmers can build a more resilient and prosperous future.
This article highlights the importance of understanding the complex interplay between climate, technology, and social dynamics in agriculture. It underscores the need for tailored interventions that address the specific challenges faced by farmers in different regions and promote the adoption of sustainable and climate-smart practices.
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