Welfare implications of participating in agri-value chains among vegetable farmers in Northern Ghana

Abstract

This study investigates the welfare implications of agri-value chain participation utilizing data collected from 423 smallholder vegetable farmers in northern Ghana. The endogenous switching regression (ESR) model estimates the determinants of agri-value chain participation and their associated impacts on farmers' welfare, measured by household income and consumption expenditure. The ESR model accounts for selectivity bias associated with observed and unobserved factors. We find that agri-value chain participation improves vegetable farmers' welfare. Participation significantly increases household income and consumption expenditure by about 22% and 40%, respectively. Our results also reveal that agri-value chain participation is significantly determined by education, household size, mobile phone ownership, irrigation, farm size, farmer group membership, and extension visits. Variables such as education, access to irrigation, farm size, access to credit, farmer group membership, and extension are the significant determinants of farmers' welfare [EconLit Citations: D24, Q12, Q18].