Abstract:
Maize is one of the most consumed food crops in Ghana. However, its
production has been declining due to poor quality seeds and inadequate
fertilizers. To deal with this challenge, the Ghana Government, through the
Ministry of Food and Agriculture, introduced a flagship programme; Planting
for Food and Jobs (PFJ) with the aim of increasing productivity. Little
empirical knowledge is known about how the intervention has improved the
yields of maize farmers, especially in the Agona West Municipality. The main
objective of the study was to examine the effect of seeds and fertilizer subsidy
component of the PFJ programme on yield of maize farmers in the Agona
West Municipality of the Central Region of Ghana. Two hundred and
seventy-seven beneficiaries were randomly selected and interviewed using
structured interview schedule. Descriptive statistics, dependent and
independent sample t-tests and correlation coefficients were used to analyze
the data. The results of the study showed that most (88%) of the respondents
perceived the seeds and fertilizer subsidy component of the PFJ programme to
be ‗very highly effective‘ in improving their yields. Also, 86% of the
respondents ‗strongly agreed‘ to the overall perceived attributes of the PFJ
programme. Majority (94%) of the maize farmers agreed to the fact that the
PFJ policy have had comprehensive impact on their yield and income after the
intervention. The dependent sample t-test shows significant increase in yield
(about 154%) from 408mt/ha to 1038mt/ha at 0.05 alpha levels before and
after the adoption of the PFJ programme respectively. The correlation analysis
shows that marital status and Voluntariness had significant relationship with
maize yield at 0.5 alpha level. Income also improved from GH₵5500 to
GH₵9000 per hectare before and after the adoption of the seed and fertilizer
subsidy respectively. Major challenges beneficiaries faced were their inability
to follow repayment arrangements and ever-changing terms and conditions of
the access to the input subsidy. It is recommended that government of Ghana
should not discontinue the intervention programme since it has the potential to
improve food production, income and the well-being of beneficiary maize
farmers.
