Pathways and Interactions for Integrating Mechanisation into Sustainable Agricultural Production: The Case of Rice Production in Asutsuare, Ghana

Selorm Yaotse Dorvlo (), Elizabeth Mkandawire, Katy Roelich and Charles Blessings Jumbe
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Selorm Yaotse Dorvlo: Department of Agricultural Engineering, School of Engineering Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra P.O. Box LG 77, Ghana
Elizabeth Mkandawire: FSNet-Africa, University of Pretoria, Hatfield 0028, South Africa
Katy Roelich: School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Charles Blessings Jumbe: Centre for Agricultural Research and Development, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lilongwe P.O. Box 219, Malawi

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 22, 1-17

Abstract: Environmentally sustainable small-scale rice production mechanisation is a feasible intervention to help enhance yields and reduce food insecurity. Using machinery for rice production can help small farmers economically and promote sustainability through agroecological principles. The study analyses machinery ownership models and suggests stakeholder interactions for sustainable rice production. The study uses primary data from a field survey of 320 farmers within Asutsuare, a rice production hub in Southern Ghana, and secondary data from various sources. Four different ownership models have been proposed and evaluated. The cooperative-owned machinery (COM) model, with a sharing of the initial investment capital outlay for the machinery acquisition, and the individual ownership model, where the farmer owns and offers hiring services to other farmers (the FOHM-2B and FOHM-2T models) were the most economically viable models. The study also identifies necessary stakeholder engagement and pathways for affordable, sustainable, mechanised small-scale rice production. The models and interactions can promote machinery ownership and strengthen social connections in the community. This local knowledge base can help expand the use of machinery within the community. These models and interactions can be replicated easily in Sub-Saharan African farming communities with similar dynamics. This will improve mechanised farming throughout the continent.

Keywords: rice production; agroecology; sustainable mechanisation; stakeholder interactions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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