A Case Study of Cowpea IPM in Northern Ghana: Development and Transfer of Innovation by Agricultural Development Agencies

Abstract

This paper is based on data gathered during a year of fieldwork in Northern Ghana. The fieldwork focused on two communities in two districts of Northern Ghana, as well as three Agricultural Development Agencies (ADA): the Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), and World Vision Ghana (WVG). Formal surveys, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and observations were used to collect data. For the formal survey guided by the questionnaire, a total of 120 individual interviews were conducted. Thirty individual questionnaires were distributed to the three ADA – SARI, WVG, and MOFA. Documentation of activities from the three ADAs was gathered once more. While 275 community members made up of both male and female farmers, elders and traders were involved in five Focal Group Discussion Workshops. This paper focuses on ADAs and agricultural innovation development, diffusion, and adoption, as well as the impact on men and women in increasing agricultural productivity. It further focuses on how agricultural policies influence the processes of innovation development, diffusion and transfer. The findings show that for any agricultural development programme or adoption, targeting and involving farmers at an early stage in innovation development and transfer is important. Indications were that inequities in extension service delivery had a negative influence on making relevant innovations available, particularly to women farmers. As a result, monitoring and evaluation assist in the direction of agricultural policy as well as the creation and transfer of innovation approaches. Again, strong collaborative effort, good research planning, monitoring and evaluation, and information sharing are the results of successful innovation development, transfer, and high adoption rates.