Climate change perception and the adoption of innovation among mango plantation farmers in the Yilo Krobo municipality, Ghana

Abstract

Mango production has the potential to boost Ghana's socioeconomic growth and development. However, mango is susceptible to climate change risk resulting in the adoption of innovations among mango farmers. Drawing on the protection motivation and the innovation diffusion theories, this study assesses the effect of climate change perceptions on the adoption of innovations among mango farmers in the Yilo Krobo Municipality, Ghana. The study used data collected from 204 randomly selected farmers through a questionnaire survey. Data collected were subjected to basic descriptive and inferential analysis. Results show that mango farmers associated post-harvest losses, frequent droughts, rising temperature, declining rainfall, and pests and diseases to climate change. The participants have adopted management, technological and process innovations such as the application of improved seedlings and agrochemicals, practising irrigation farming and using social media and networks to market their business. Results further reveal that mango farmers' adoption of innovation is largely determined by their contextual and compositional demographic characteristics such as age, education, size of plantation and years of farming experience. In addition, climate change perceptions particularly frequent droughts influence smallholder farmers' adoption of innovation. Government and other stakeholders need to increase access to socioeconomic resources and education to enhance farmers' adaptive capacity and improve their adoption of innovations.