Can improved sorghum varieties enhance farm performance and household welfare? Evidence from Upper East Region of Ghana

Abstract

This paper examines the role of improved sorghum variety adoption on smallholder farm performance and household welfare, measured by farm input expenditure, farm output, farm net returns, and household consumption expenditure per capita, using data from a household survey in Ghana's Upper East region. The study employed an endogenous treatment effects model, which addresses observable and unobservable selection biases associated with households' adoption decisions. The results reveal that improved sorghum variety adoption is significantly driven by government support, farm size, market distance, education, Farmer-Based Organization (FBO) membership, and household size. Moreover, gender, education, farm size, government support, FBO membership are the significant drivers of farm performance and household welfare among farm households. The results also show increased farm performance and better welfare associated with improved sorghum variety adoption. In particular, adopters incur 12.87% input expenditure, generate 6.95% farm output, 6.39% farm net returns, and 9.88% household consumption expenditure per capita, relative to non-adopters. Developing improved sorghum varieties and promoting uptake by farmers could enhance farm performance and improve rural livelihoods in Ghana.