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Impact of the E4L Project on Food Security and Livelihoods Among Beneficiaries in Savelugu Municipality of Northern Region, Ghana

Received: 22 December 2020     Accepted: 31 December 2020     Published: 12 March 2021
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Abstract

Agricultural production is the main activity in the northern sector of Ghana and is practiced mainly on seasonal and subsistence level. Most farmers in Northern Ghana are therefore food insecure owing to post-harvest, the seasonal of nature of agriculture, coupled with inadequate modern agricultural technologies. Adoption of modern agricultural technologies and cultural practices such as irrigation, fertilizer application, use of resistant varieties, good planting and harvesting times, among others might be the panacea to increased agricultural production and improved food security and livelihoods among farmers in northern Ghana. The study therefore sought to assess the impact of the Empowerment for Life (E4L) programme intervention on food security and livelihood among beneficiary women and farmer groups in Savelugu/Nanton Municipal of Northern region of Ghana. Out of several project interventions that are implemented in the Northern region, the purposive sampling technique was used to select the Empowerment for Life (E4L) programme for the study. Out of the five operational districts of the Empowerment for Life (E4L) programme, the Savelugu/Nanton municipal was selected through simple random sampling. The simple random sampling technique was again used to select ten beneficiary groups, out of a total of seventeen beneficiary groups in the Savelugu/Nanton municipal, for the study. The purposive sampling technique was used to select 45 beneficiary farmers, 40 beneficiary women and 5 members of E4L staff. In all, 100 respondents were selected for the study. The study revealed that majority of the beneficiary farmers have had improved food security through the adoption of improved agronomic practices and improved linkage between farmers and other actors in agricultural value chain. The study further established that the livelihoods of beneficiary farmers have been improved through improved capacity building, information sharing and improved access to productive resources such as land, labour and farm inputs. The study also revealed that in times of difficulties, majority of the farmers relied on their savings and/or sale of property as the mitigation measure or coping strategy. It is recommended that capacity building of farmers on agronomic practices and improved modern methods of farming should be intensified to further sharping the skills of farmers for increased productivity and hence, improved food security and livelihoods.

Published in International Journal of Science, Technology and Society (Volume 9, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijsts.20211002.11
Page(s) 37-42
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Livelihoods, Food Security, E4l Programme, Beneficiary Farmer Groups, Ghana

References
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[7] Makokha, S., Kimani, S., Mwangi, W., Verkuijl, H., Musembi, F., 2001. Determinants of Fertilizer and Manure Use for Maize Production in Kiambu District, Kenya. CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) Mexico.
[8] Karugia, S., Baltenweck, I., Waithaka, M., Miano, M., Nyikal, R., Romney, D., 2004. Perception of Technology and its Impact on Technology Uptake: The Case of Fodder Legume in Central Kenya Highlands. The Role of Social Scientists Proceedings of the Inaugural Symposium, 6 to 8 December 2004, Grand Regency Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya.
[9] Bawa, A., 2019. Agriculture and Food Security in Northern Ghana. Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension, Economics and Sociology 31 (2): 1-7. DOI: 10.9734/ajaees/2019/v3li230127.
[10] Romer, P., 1986. “Increasing Returns and Long Run Growth”. Journal of Political Economics 94: 1002-1037.
[11] Lucas, R., 1988. “On The Mechanics of Economic Development”. Journal of Monetary Economics 22: 3-42.
[12] Jamison D., and Lau, L., 1982. “Farmer Education and Farm Efficiency”. Washington, DC, World Bank.
[13] Mignouna, B., Manyong, M., Rusike, J., Mutabazi, S. and Senkondo, M., 2011. Determinants of Adopting Imazapyr-Resistant Maize Technology and its Impact on Household Income in Western Kenya: AgBioforum, 14 (3), 158-163. Hall, B. and Khan, B. (2002) Adoption of new technology. New Economy Handbook.
[14] Chowdhury, A. M. R., Mahmud, M. and Abed, F. H., 1991. Impact of Credit for the Rural Poor: the case of BRAC Small Enterprise Development, Volume 2, No. 3. IT Publications, London.
[15] Mustafa, S. and Ara, 1996. Beacon of Hope: An Impact Assessment of BRAC’s Rural Development Programme, Dhaka, BRAC Evaluation Division.
[16] Quisumbing A. R., Payongayong, E., Aidoo, J. B., Otsuka, K., 2001. Women’s land rights in the transition to individualized ownership: implications for tree resource management in Western Ghana. Econ Dev Cult Change, 50 (1): 157–82.
[17] Ogwumike F. O., 2001. Current state of knowledge on poverty in Nigeria. In: Afonja, S., Adelekan, D., Soetan, F., Alimi, T. and Ayanwale, B. (Eds). Research and policy directions on poverty in Nigeria. Nigeria: Centre for Gender and Social Policy Studies; 2001. p. 24–34.
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  • APA Style

    Alhassan Bawa, Lukman Yussif. (2021). Impact of the E4L Project on Food Security and Livelihoods Among Beneficiaries in Savelugu Municipality of Northern Region, Ghana. International Journal of Science, Technology and Society, 9(2), 37-42. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsts.20211002.11

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    ACS Style

    Alhassan Bawa; Lukman Yussif. Impact of the E4L Project on Food Security and Livelihoods Among Beneficiaries in Savelugu Municipality of Northern Region, Ghana. Int. J. Sci. Technol. Soc. 2021, 9(2), 37-42. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsts.20211002.11

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    AMA Style

    Alhassan Bawa, Lukman Yussif. Impact of the E4L Project on Food Security and Livelihoods Among Beneficiaries in Savelugu Municipality of Northern Region, Ghana. Int J Sci Technol Soc. 2021;9(2):37-42. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsts.20211002.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijsts.20211002.11,
      author = {Alhassan Bawa and Lukman Yussif},
      title = {Impact of the E4L Project on Food Security and Livelihoods Among Beneficiaries in Savelugu Municipality of Northern Region, Ghana},
      journal = {International Journal of Science, Technology and Society},
      volume = {9},
      number = {2},
      pages = {37-42},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijsts.20211002.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsts.20211002.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijsts.20211002.11},
      abstract = {Agricultural production is the main activity in the northern sector of Ghana and is practiced mainly on seasonal and subsistence level. Most farmers in Northern Ghana are therefore food insecure owing to post-harvest, the seasonal of nature of agriculture, coupled with inadequate modern agricultural technologies. Adoption of modern agricultural technologies and cultural practices such as irrigation, fertilizer application, use of resistant varieties, good planting and harvesting times, among others might be the panacea to increased agricultural production and improved food security and livelihoods among farmers in northern Ghana. The study therefore sought to assess the impact of the Empowerment for Life (E4L) programme intervention on food security and livelihood among beneficiary women and farmer groups in Savelugu/Nanton Municipal of Northern region of Ghana. Out of several project interventions that are implemented in the Northern region, the purposive sampling technique was used to select the Empowerment for Life (E4L) programme for the study. Out of the five operational districts of the Empowerment for Life (E4L) programme, the Savelugu/Nanton municipal was selected through simple random sampling. The simple random sampling technique was again used to select ten beneficiary groups, out of a total of seventeen beneficiary groups in the Savelugu/Nanton municipal, for the study. The purposive sampling technique was used to select 45 beneficiary farmers, 40 beneficiary women and 5 members of E4L staff. In all, 100 respondents were selected for the study. The study revealed that majority of the beneficiary farmers have had improved food security through the adoption of improved agronomic practices and improved linkage between farmers and other actors in agricultural value chain. The study further established that the livelihoods of beneficiary farmers have been improved through improved capacity building, information sharing and improved access to productive resources such as land, labour and farm inputs. The study also revealed that in times of difficulties, majority of the farmers relied on their savings and/or sale of property as the mitigation measure or coping strategy. It is recommended that capacity building of farmers on agronomic practices and improved modern methods of farming should be intensified to further sharping the skills of farmers for increased productivity and hence, improved food security and livelihoods.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Impact of the E4L Project on Food Security and Livelihoods Among Beneficiaries in Savelugu Municipality of Northern Region, Ghana
    AU  - Alhassan Bawa
    AU  - Lukman Yussif
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijsts.20211002.11
    T2  - International Journal of Science, Technology and Society
    JF  - International Journal of Science, Technology and Society
    JO  - International Journal of Science, Technology and Society
    SP  - 37
    EP  - 42
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-7420
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsts.20211002.11
    AB  - Agricultural production is the main activity in the northern sector of Ghana and is practiced mainly on seasonal and subsistence level. Most farmers in Northern Ghana are therefore food insecure owing to post-harvest, the seasonal of nature of agriculture, coupled with inadequate modern agricultural technologies. Adoption of modern agricultural technologies and cultural practices such as irrigation, fertilizer application, use of resistant varieties, good planting and harvesting times, among others might be the panacea to increased agricultural production and improved food security and livelihoods among farmers in northern Ghana. The study therefore sought to assess the impact of the Empowerment for Life (E4L) programme intervention on food security and livelihood among beneficiary women and farmer groups in Savelugu/Nanton Municipal of Northern region of Ghana. Out of several project interventions that are implemented in the Northern region, the purposive sampling technique was used to select the Empowerment for Life (E4L) programme for the study. Out of the five operational districts of the Empowerment for Life (E4L) programme, the Savelugu/Nanton municipal was selected through simple random sampling. The simple random sampling technique was again used to select ten beneficiary groups, out of a total of seventeen beneficiary groups in the Savelugu/Nanton municipal, for the study. The purposive sampling technique was used to select 45 beneficiary farmers, 40 beneficiary women and 5 members of E4L staff. In all, 100 respondents were selected for the study. The study revealed that majority of the beneficiary farmers have had improved food security through the adoption of improved agronomic practices and improved linkage between farmers and other actors in agricultural value chain. The study further established that the livelihoods of beneficiary farmers have been improved through improved capacity building, information sharing and improved access to productive resources such as land, labour and farm inputs. The study also revealed that in times of difficulties, majority of the farmers relied on their savings and/or sale of property as the mitigation measure or coping strategy. It is recommended that capacity building of farmers on agronomic practices and improved modern methods of farming should be intensified to further sharping the skills of farmers for increased productivity and hence, improved food security and livelihoods.
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Agro Enterprise Development, Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology, Ho Technical University, Ho, Ghana

  • Community Life Improvement Programme, Tamale, Ghana

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