Abstract:
The essence of this study was to examine inclusive business models that could
promote the adoption of new technologies among smallholder vegetable
farmers in the Denkyembour District in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Data
collection for the study was done through the administering of a structured
questionnaire. Census was carried out on 150 smallholder vegetable farmers
who were beneficiaries of the project titled: Building vegetable farmers'
resilience to climate change. Descriptive statistics, gross margin analysis,
stochastic profit frontier efficiency model, correlation, and binary logistic
regression were used in analyzing the data. Findings from the study indicated
that farmers who cultivated both okra and garden eggs had a gross margin of
(83.23%) and were found to be more profitable than only okra farmers and only
garden egg farmers. With the mean profit efficiency value of (93%), only okra
farmers were found to be more profit efficient than the other vegetable-farmer
categories. The results also showed that smallholder vegetable farmers had high
competencies in Vegetable Production Management Practices (VPMPs) with
moderate knowledge, high attitude, high skills, and high aspirations. Direct
Farming was the existing Business Model type commonly practiced by the
majority of farmers as a result of insufficient knowledge of farmers on inclusive
business models (IBM). Farmers’ choice of business model types was
influenced by: age, level of education, main occupation, the use of irrigation
facility, farmer group, number of times of accessing extension services,
knowledge and attitude in VPMPs, and their awareness of IBM. The study
proposed that smallholder vegetable farmers in the study area could extremely
do well in an improved vegetable value chain model situated in an enabling
regulatory framework with a financial mechanism. The study recommended that
MOFA and other stakeholders in agriculture should educate smallholder farmers
on the relevance of IBM in the vegetable industry, help to link them to other
vegetable value chain actorsd regulate the contractual agreement between the
farmers and their partners to minimize cheating or fraud in the value chain.
