Farm households’ choice of strategies in response to floods in the Builsa-North district, Ghana

Abstract

ABSTRACT The incidence of flooding has increased tremendously in the Northern parts of Ghana, with little knowledge known as to how affected people respond. The research focused on the factors that influence household choice of strategies in response to floods in the Builsa-North district. A multivariate probit model was employed to examine the drivers of household choice of strategies in response to flood. The descriptive analysis indicates that a total of eight (8) response strategies are used, with early planting being the most dominant, while migration was the least used. The results revealed that age, extension services, NADMO services etc are significant determinants of response strategies to floods. NADMO is a government agency responsible for the management of disasters and other emergencies in Ghana. It further on recorded complementary and substitutable response strategies. Using response strategies, farmers face challenges such as low access to extension services etc. It is recommended that avenues must be created to deepen access to extension services available to farmers in other to provide adequate and quality information that will help resolve conflicts in farmers' use of strategies. NADMO services must be targeted at the elderly persons since they view flood phenomenon as acts of their deity.