- Final Report - Northern Region – Ghana€¦ · Ghana at the macroeconomic level and also in...

Agrarian system diagnosis

- Final Report -

Northern Region – Ghana

Laure Le Queré

Rémi Bonvalet

March – August 2011

Tutor : Olivier Ducourtieux

Agrarian diagnosis – Ghana – Northern Region

Laure Le Quéré – Rémi Bonvalet – March-August 2011

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. A landscape consisting of uplands and lowlands ........................................................................ 3

2. History of agriculture in the study area until the British colonisation .......................................... 4

3. Clear-and-burn farming at the beginning of the 20th century ..................................................... 5

4. From the Independence on, the stopping of clear-and-burn farming is the sign of a new agrarian

system ................................................................................................................................................ 7

5. Rice cropping systems in the lowlands ..................................................................................... 15

6. Rice cropping systems in the open valley bottoms .................................................................... 20

7. Current farming systems ......................................................................................................... 20

8. RSSP : impacts and recommendations...................................................................................... 27

9. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 30

UNITS et ABBREVIATIONS

1 acre = 0,4 hectare

1 cédi (GHC) = 0,5 euros

uN nitrogen unity

md man-day

SC secondary cereal (millet or sorghum)

H hoe to plough

T tractor and disks to plough

BP bullocks and plough to plough

UL Uplands

LL Lowlands

VB Open valley bottoms



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Introduction

Ghana is generally acknowledged as one of the driving countries in the development of West Africa. Second cocoa

producer in the world, the country relies on its agriculture to sustain economic growth since it represents about 30% of

the GNB in 2010. Compared to the neighbouring countries that have similar climatic and agronomic potentials, Ghana

has been an example of dynamism in the area of agricultural policies since its independence in 1957. Indeed,

programmes and public projects in agricultural development, aiming at increasing on the one hand national production

and on the other hand farmers’ income, are many. For instance, they focus on farmers’ groups with credit systems

(supply of inputs and services), purchase of agricultural productions by the government with guaranteed prices, and

important subsidies on inputs and equipments.

The Rice Sector Support Project (RSSP), project of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoFA), is an example of the action of the

government in terms of agricultural development. Indeed the rice sector has been considered as a strategic sector for

Ghana at the macroeconomic level and also in terms of food security and poverty alleviation. Thus, rice has been

expressly identified in the Food and Agriculture Sector Development policy (FASDEP) as an important food crop which

should be given special attention for self-sufficiency. The project goal is to increase the production of high-yielding

potential rice through the development of lowlands (building of bunds) in 4 regions of the country, namely Northern,

Upper East, Upper West and Volta Regions. It also aims at structuring the value chain and at developing access to credit

for the farmers.

Characteristics of the study area

The area of study is located East of Walewale, in the White Volta watershed. The relief is undulating, with gentle slopes

and an altitude oscillating between 130 and 160 meters. The slope is globally orientated North-Est to South-West,

towards the Nasia river. Therefore uplands are rather located in the northern part of the study area whereas lowlands

can be found mainly in the southern part.

Climate in the study area is of guinean type, with a rainy season of roughly 6 months from late April to October

alternating with a dry season. Total rainfall is about 1000 mm, though inter-annual and intra-annual variabilities are

very important, with consequences on the management of the sowing period.

The mean annual temperature is 28°C in rainy season and 30°C in dry season. The highest temperatures can be reached

at the end of the dry season.

1. A landscape consisting of uplands and lowlands

1.1. In the uplands (UL), tree covered-fields

The landscape in the uplands generally consists of tree covered-fields with shea trees and dawadawa trees. Trees are

selected during the clearing process, and are therefore homogenous in terms of age and height, and regularly spaced.

Shea trees are predominant (1 tree every 10-20 meters) while dawadawa trees are more scarce, because their shallow

roots interfere with the ploughing. In addition to this, the shadow created by the dawadawa is too large for crops to

grow well underneath. This is why, even if dawadawa trees have benefits since they enrich the soil in nitrogen, they are

quite rare in the study area. The tree vegetation of these fields has a double role: production, since these trees are

used for food and as medicine, and fertility management (vertical fertility transfer).

Under the trees, most of the plots are cropped continuously and some rare fallows reach 3 to 4 years. In relation with

the type of soil (gravel, loam, sand), all crops can be found, except for rice and dry season gardening

In the north of the study area, fields are mostly cropped continuously whereas in the south, the landscape is less

regular because the length and area of the fallow are more important. This part of the study area is more intensely

used for cattle grazing, namely by Fulani herdsmen.

1.2. Downstream, lowlands (LL) collecting drainage water

Without slope break, lowlands are located downstream of the hydrographic network, and thus collect the water

coming from upstream lands. Because of their topographic position and of the hydromorphic nature of their soils

(loamy-clay to clay), these lowlands are flooded during more than one month and are mostly used for rice cultivation.



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The flooding depends on the rainfall, with the level of water progressively rising from August to October where it

reaches its maximum, before drying up around November, at the end of the rainy season. It generally doesn’t exceed

one meter of height.

Cultivation of early maize and early watermelon is also possible in this area when water comes late enough to harvest

these crops (September) when it is not flooded yet, that is to say in the portions that are less hydromorphic or when

the rainy season is delayed.

To the contrary of uplands, large portions of the lowlands are still yet to be cleared. The tree vegetation is very

different and much more heterogenous than in the uplands, with trees that are water-resistant (dawadawa and shea

trees have a rooting system that does not stand hydromorphic soils.

1.3. Open valley bottoms (VB) near communities

Because of their topographic position, the valley bottoms collect both the water coming from upstream and the water

coming from the annual swelling of the stream, being it temporary or permanent. The soils are mostly hydromorphic,

and they also benefit from annual alluvial deposits, making them the most fertile soils of the study area.

In dry season, the grass vegetation is more abundant there than anywhere else, therefore these areas are used for

collective cattle grazing as well as for watering if possible. Dry season gardening (production of vegetables and leaf

vegetables) is also developed in these zones, in fenced or enclosed gardens. The watering of the gardens is made

possible by the digging of shallow wells.

In rainy season, valley bottoms are used for rice cultivation, as well as for grazing and sometimes early maize can be

cropped in the parts that are flooded late or not even flooded.

1.4. Mamprugu communities and belt of maize cropped continuously

Mamprugu communities are often located on uplands, near a stream or another source of water. The settlements have

largely grown in the 2nd

half of the 20th

century. They have also diversified:nowadays not only mud houses are present,

sheet metal-roofed and breeze block-walled houses have been built by the richest people. Some of the communities of

the study area gather only a few hundreds of people, while Kparigu, the biggest community, counts more than 6000

people.

These settlement areas have been cleared, which allows a relative protection against bushfires, and they have also

been planted with trees of interest, such as mango trees, kapok trees and teaks. In between houses and around the

communities maize fields can be found, on a belt that can be a few hundred meters wide. They are cropped

continuously in sole maize with a higher density than in the fields from the tree covered-park.

1.5. Fulani settlements with a tree covered-belt cropped in maize with organic fertilisation

Fulani herdsmen have settled on lands granted by Mamprugu community chiefs. Generally, a Fulani settlement is only

made of one family, therefore only a few buildings can be found.

More present in the South of the study area because of a lesser land pressure, these herdsmen only have a few acres

around their houses. This belt is covered with shea trees and dawadawa trees as described in the 1st

zone, and is used

for the grazing and the penning of the cattle, as well as for maize cropping. Two elements contribute to the organic

fertilization of the fields : dry season pens are moved regularly on the future cropped fields, and manure is also

collected and spread.

2. History of agriculture in the study area until the British colonisation

2.1. Settling process in the study area

Around the 15th and 16th centuries, the Manding, founders of the Haussa states in the North of current Nigeria, near

Lake Tchad, emigrated towards the South-West and thrusted themselves to indigenous people of northern Ghana and

Burkina. They founded the State of Mamprusi, and put the capital in the hills of Gambaga (north-eastern part of the

study area), in Nalergiru (60 km North-East of Walewale), as a strategic defence position.



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By successive immigration waves, the population density rose, with an earlier settling process on the Walewale-

Gambaga trail (North of the study area). The migrants, first hunters-gatherers, progressively settle and develop a slash-

and-burn, shifting agriculture.

2.2. Appropriation of the land by the first families and shifting agriculture

The settlement of the area by the migrants led to conflicts with the population already settled. Following this, a social

organisation was put in place. Clans were formed into a hierarchy according to their role (chief, chief of the land, chief

of war, imam, and blacksmith) and these statuses are transmitted to the next generation. Though, the major part of the

population has no precise role and has the same social status.

The chief of the community is from the clan of the founding families. He is helped by a council of elderly to solve any

conflicts. He is the eminent owner of the integrality of the community land, and the only one to be able to allocate land

to the people of the community. When the chief dies, the role is entrusted to a family descending from the founders’

clan.

The society is organised into father-lineages. That is to say that when the head of the family dies, the oldest of the sons

inherits from most of the family land, and the entire cattle herd. The other sons can found their own lineage and

progressively increase their land by clearing, while still belonging to the same clan. The process of clearing establishes

the ‘ownership’ of the land, therefore the first arrived (the founding families) are the biggest land owners. At this time,

there are no individual lands, all the members of a lineage work together on the lands they obtained the usufruct of.

Besides, the social organisation imposes duties on the chief’s farm. He can ask the members of the community (at least

one man per family) to come and work for him, during one day, for farm works (mainly ploughing and weeding). These

duties are realised for free and strengthen the social organisation of the community.

2.3. British colonisation : taxes and migrations

Until the mid 19th century, Europeans (Portuguese and Dutch) hardly penetrate inland, focusing on trading from their

coastal forts. However, the Ashanti exert a strong domination on neighbouring people, including the Mamprusi

kingdom, which have to pay a tax in the form of slaves. They are captured in the North of the country before being

brought to the forts on the coast, and this will go on until the beginning of the 20th

century at the benefit of the British,

even after the abolition in 1807.

In 1901, the study area, as part of the Northern territories, is annexed to the British colony. The colonial authority puts

the capital in Gambaga and uses the existing social organisation to administrate indirectly these new territories. Chiefs

are regarded as the representatives of the communities and taxes are collected through them. A tax per inhabitant and

a tax per head of cattle are set up. This monetary demand marks the start of seasonal migrations to the South, in gold

mines and mostly in cocoa plantations (cocoa was introduced in 1879 and from 1910 on it was booming). Therefore the

demand in workforce in cocoa plantations and the need to pay the tax to the British lead to important migrations

during the dry season.

At the beginning of the 20 th century, the British develop communication ways, notably by improving the road from

Walewale to the capital Gambaga. On this main axis communities grow and rural population densifies. Walewale

becomes an important crossroads for the trade on the Tamale-Bolgatanga road. The population density is higher in the

northern part of the study area, while the southern part, further from the communication axis, is less populated. The

average population density at the beginning of the 20th

century is less than 8 inhabitants/sq m, while probably less than

5 inhabitants/sq m in the southern part. Consequently, there is a difference in the mode of exploiting the ecosystem

between both parts, indeed the northern part of the area is already more intensely cropped and cleared.

3. Clear-and-burn farming at the beginning of the 20th century

3.1. Yam and cereals are the main productions

In the first half of the twentieth century, agriculture in our study area is fairly homogeneous. The majority of

production occurs in a clear-and-burn farming system in the uplands where the available spaces are abundant. The yam

is grown in the first year after clearing, taking advantage of the "fertility effect" of virgin land or long-term fallow (more

than 10 years, Figure 6). Yam is the staple food. The clearing of the land by cutting and burning is not complete in the

first year, some trees are pruned to serve as stakes for the yams planted on individual mounts. The fire-resistant



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character of the shea and dawadawa trees allows to practice clearing thanks to the use of fire while keeping these two

trees.

Three to five years of cereal cropping follow the tuber: 1) maize in combination with millet or sorghum, or 2) millet or

3) sorghum as a sole crop. Some beans are also grown on a medium scale in combination with cereals. As shown in the

attached model (Figure 6), a very small part of the farm is saved for growing groundnuts. Before planting, the soil is

tilled with a hoe and mounts are built on the land which is cleared but not grubbed up. The following year, new mounts

are shifted compared to their position the year before in order to bury the crop residues and thus to help the

mineralization and the humification. This is the main method of fertility management in the cultivated plot.

After four to six years of cropping, the plot is abandoned and the shrubs and trees appear. Leaving the land fallow is

the main mode of reproduction of fertility. It also enriches the plot in selected tree species: some shea and dawadawa

trees are kept the first year of cropping. In addition to the harvest of fruit and leaves, these trees provide a vertical

transfer of fertility.

In addition to the tillage, the weeding is also done with a hoe, but smaller than the previous one. The rainy season is

relatively short and its arrival is sudden so the setting up of the crop (tillage and sowing) is the work peak for all the

productions. Farmers being equipped with hoes, they can hardly exceed 2 acres per worker. Moreover, even if the

rains are important (more than 1000 mm / year) and described as rather regular, migratory locust, wild animals, plant

pathologies, bush fires and weed pressure (for the last years of cropping) lead to significant yield losses.

The second cropping system is located in the fields near the houses. The surroundings of the village are in fact already

cleared and intensely cultivated in cereals (maize, millet and sorghum). The animals are kept in the buildings during the

crop cycle of the cereal to avoid destruction. There is a relative concentration of fertility in these fields because of: 1)

the contribution of household waste, 2) the transition in the dry season grazing ruminants which are grazing

everywhere and parked in building during the night, and 3) the supply of forages harvested from the fields during the

rainy season forage to feed the sheep and goats tethered. The predominance of maize is due to the advantage of its

short cycle of 4 months which limits the duration of attachment and thus feeding of small ruminants and allows early

production of food during the gap period. Some vegetables grown in home gardens complement marginally the daily

food (especially okro and various leaves).

The tree vegetation in the valley bottoms is sparse. They are primarily used for animal grazing and are sometimes

cropped for small-scale rice cultivation by the founding families. Conversely, lowlands are little used because the soil is

heavy and difficult to till by hoe. The few farmers who exploit them are members of the richest founding families and

have an availability of labour to clear the closest flooded areas. Because of its relative resistance to waterlogging,

sorghum is the main crop that is put in place even if the plots are rare. Traditional varieties of rice are used in

community events (funerals). Its production is a sign of the ability to crop a lowland and therefore of a certain socio-

economic status (notably maintained through the days of agricultural work that the community has to give to the

head). The water control is nonexistent and the risks of crop failure by excess or deficit of water are very important.

3.2. Self-consumption in the farming systems

With few inputs and equipment, the agriculture of the area is only manual and entirely oriented towards self-

consumption. The majority of the farms are self-sufficient. In addition, the weak development of transportation and

communication ways strongly limits selling opportunities for farm products as well as the opportunities of economic

migrations.

The main peak of the agriculture is the manual tillage for which farmers must provide a significant amount of work (5

man-days per acre) in a very short time-window in order to sow with optimum moisture. Weeding is slightly slower

than tillage (5 to 7 man-days per acre) but easier to postpone. Indeed, the delay of one day of labour (thus sowing)

results in maximum yield losses. Harvesting can easily be spread over a longer period for limited amounts of work (6 to

10 man-days per acre depending on the crops, except for cotton).

The workforce is only local. Most of the works done on the family farm are provided by the members of the concession

(including children who are rarely at school). For the work peaks (tillage, weeding, some harvesting), mutual help

groups are organized and can finish them quickly.

While all are practicing the same cropping systems, the founding families limit the risks through the extension of their

land and get better returns because they probably appropriated the best land. These families can feed more members

and increase their ratio between workers and consumers. They are structurally in the accumulation phase of the cycle

of Tchayanov. While this advantage is sometimes light, it is ultimately decisive in the differentiation of a farming

system that is still rather homogeneous.



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Families whose harvests are insufficient can get some food support from a family more well-off. In exchange of its help,

this family receives animals and temporary workers to help in its own farm works if the gift of food was more

important. In extreme cases, the helping family receives a slave and thus deprives the needy family of a worker. The

system maintains a strong dependence of the lowest social classes towards the highest. With the communal day of

work he benefits of for free, the leader is the most well-to-do. In brief, in the agrarian system of the early twentieth

century and beyond, the date of settlement of the family in the community is the key of social status and economic

dynamics, as unprofitable or hoarding situations are maintained by the socio-economic relations.

3.3. Livestock rearing is much developed in the area

Cattle breeding is very present in the early twentieth century. A head of family has often more than ten heads of cattle

(and sometimes up to more than fifty), mainly for the purpose of savings since the revenue generated is not always

immediately realized. The savings are very little used to finance investments, but are essentially decapitalized in case of

unpredictable needs (funeral, wedding, health ...). Animals are entrusted to Fulani men (tribe from Burkina Faso and

Mali, in Ghana still not so present at the time, and which accelerates its settlement from the year 1940 due to the

drying up of these countries). In exchange of this service, the Fulani men have the usufruct of milk production and may

occasionally be supported in terms of food and agricultural work by the owners of cattle. The whole of their surface

(less than three acres per worker) is cultivated in maize (with or without a secondary cereal) and fertilized by organic

manure after shifting the night kraal during the dry season or the distribution of manure coming from the rainy season

pen. Their yields are high for maize (average of 0,8 tonnes per acre).

In addition to the cattle owned by the family head, it is common for women and the elder sons to own sheep, goats

and poultry in addition to those belonging to the lineage. It is also already common that some productions from their

individual plots gives them a relative economic autonomy.

4. From the Independence on, the stopping of clear-and-burn farming is the sign of a

new agrarian system

4.1. 1950s and 1960s

4.1.1. 1950s : Bullock ploughing development

In the mid-1950s, the head of Kparigu is a civil servant of the Ministry of Agriculture. He provides trainings in animal

traction. Although advance payment systems exist and most of the farmers have bullocks at that time, the founding

families are almost the only ones able to feed a pair of bullocks working during the rainy season and able to invest in a

plough (from [A.3] to [B3] in Figure 7). In addition, it is very likely that their social status facilitates the access to the

training.

The use of bullocks to plough (BP) divides by almost ten the amount of work required to plow a acre (0,5-1 man-day

against an average of 5 with the hoe). Thus, the founding families now tilling with a plough can both increase the

cropped land per worker while shifting the work peak from the ploughing to the weeding, the latter being notably

managed through mutual help groups.

Gradually, service systems for bullock ploughing appear. They allow farmers with enough cash at the beginning of the

rainy season to plough some of their plots. From there, three production systems differ on the basis of socio-economic

hierarchy that already exists: the owners of the equipment of animal traction (bullock and plough) [B3], the tenants

more or less casual [B. 2] and those who never have access to animal traction ploughing [B.1]. Thus, according to their

socioeconomic status, not everyone can increase their surface. The fertility and erosion management appear

approximately the same as with hoe tilling.

The owners of cattle are increasing or at least stabilizing their yields since they can choose the date of ploughing when

the moisture is optimal. The tenants are dependent on owners and are therefore more vulnerable. In addition, leasing

provides a significant income to the owner and maintains its superior status.

4.1.2. 1962 : State Farm in Kparigu

The post-independence period also saw the development of state farms, especially near Kparigu in 1962 for maize

production. Workers are the only ones able to rent a tractor for some of their individual plots. However, they are from

different types of farmers and the six-year history of the farm has no impact on differentiation among farmers.



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However, with good yields, the structure served as an example of the adaptation of maize to fertility crisis and helped

to popularize it.

4.1.3. 1960s : State rice farms and private rice farms

Nkrumah, president of the Independence, establishes groups of rice production. Despite the egalitarian target,

beneficiaries are largely dependent on the system and the end of the program means the end of their rice production.

In parallel, the cultivation of lowland by the founding families becomes significant [C.5]. Rice cultivation requires both a

certain level of social capital to access to the land and mechanical tillage and a large workforce available to clear the

plot and especially for harvesting. In the same way as for the uplands, the clearing of a plot seems to mean the final

family ownership, thus especially for the founding families. Rice has already a cultural role, emblematic of a certain

social category.

The group system of rice was taken up again during the 1960’s and the 1970’s but never allowed other farmers than

those from the founding families to access to sustainable rice production. Let’s note that rice is first developed in the

valley bottoms but this remains an uncommon practice in the area due to the small area concerned.

4.1.4. 1960s : Beginning of population explosion

During the 1960s, population growth accelerates to over 3% per year due to the strong decline in mortality. Whether

with the extension of the communal territory of an existing community or with the installation of a new village, the

population explosion results in the clearing and cultivation of larger and larger areas. Beyond a certain extent this has

an impact on the length of the fallow period that reaches more and more rarely the decade. The diminution of fallow in

terms of area and length directly affects the organic matter accumulated in the soil and thus yields. The labour and

land productivity decrease. This is the fertility crisis.

The gradual reduction of the opportunities for clear-and-burn farming marks the transition to a new land in the early

second half of the twentieth century. The firsts who are affected are those with little land. The acceleration of

population growth leads to the coexistence of many generations and promotes the distention of the links within the

lineage. More and more frequently, a young man leaves the family compound to establish a new lineage on a new land

to be cleared. The family home is losing workers faster than it creates new ones. On the other hand, children in infancy

are the cause of the plight of the new lineage because they are not yet working. In addition to the demographic

change, the regression of the fallow accelerates the process of lineage segmentation as yields decline and it is

profitable in the short term to relocate on 'virgin' land. Gradually, the land is fragmented and the newly installed

lineages who are struggling to expand their family are more and more like a nuclear unit. Economic gains are

individualized, farms become more susceptible to hazards.

On the contrary, because of the size of their operations, the founding families can delay the regression of their fallow.

They keep longer better grain yields and what is more for a less amount of work because the weed pressure is low

during the first years after fallow clearing. Therefore, the lineage segmentation, which is the engine for the conquest of

the land, is slower for these families and maintains their high ratio of workers comparing to consumers and thus their

speed of accumulation. The situation is widening the gap between socioeconomic groups.

Farmers who can still have several years of fallow (4-5 years) today are some of the members of the founding families

clan who have been little affected by the land division. Ownership of some farmers actually extends beyond the

hundred-acre with very old fallow and virgin land. Despite the opportunity cost that this represents for the community,

the rental is almost absent from their strategy because of taboo and social norm.

Some families are sometimes victims of their excessive size and descendants inherit from small farms. Even the

founding families may experience a kind of loss of socio-economic position.

4.1.5. Changes in rainfall regime

The vast majority of farmers suggest a significant decrease in rainfall during the last fifty years and an accentuation of

their erratic nature. With a few exceptional droughts, it seems that the decrease is actually not really true. Such a

vision of things is probably due to other factors like the decline in the fallow period which makes it no longer possible

to fully build the soil structure again with a useful reserve which is decreasing. For the same reason, the soils become

less resistant to erosion during the violent rainfalls. Beyond the reduction in the annual amount of precipitation,

changes in rainfall variability are still difficult to verify.



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4.1.6. Substitution of yam by maize

The combination of the diminution of the fallow and of the fertility crisis contributes to the gradual abandonment of

yam cultivation which requires fertile land after clearing. In addition, the cycle of this crop is long (about 6 months) and

the risks of destruction due to the straying of animals are important.

At the same time, maize is getting more and more importance in the crop rotation of the clear-and-burn fields in

addition to the production from the fields near the houses. Gradually, millet and sorghum, previously the majority

cereals, are decreasing to become of secondary importance in terms of area and priority of work. They are no longer

associated with each other in the same plot but are integrated into the plot of maize.

According to the rate of disappearance of their fallow mentioned above, all the farmers in the area begin to grow more

maize, in most cases in combination with the two secondary cereals (SC). The yam is only sporadically cultivated by the

founding families at the top of rotation or by the poorest who are under-cropping their land and who can occasionally

spread their farm.

Later in the 1980s, the Ministry of Agriculture introduced maize varieties with shortened cycle (3 months instead of 4).

This development is going towards the direction of adaptation to the fertility crisis since shorter varieties use less

nutrients and are more suited to random conditions.

4.1.7. Integration of grondnut in the crop rotation

Historically, groundnut cropping was relatively scarce. This legume is progressively incorporated into the crop rotations

for its role in nitrogen fixation and gradually replaces the fallow as a mode of reproduction of fertility. Only the

production systems in accumulation phase are able to keep enough groundnut seeds for the next year. Yet these

systems are those for whom the fallow is still the most present. Thus, the integration of groundnut rotations is not

immediate [C.5] but become ultimately the foundation of the agriculture in the area. This is completely effective only

from the 1980s for the vast majority of production systems. Thereafter, the situation remains basically the same:

groundnuts, mostly self-consumed, runs out for the poorest farmers in the sowing season. Also possessing little fallow,

the reproduction of fertility for them is actually really difficult.

Cowpeas and bambara beans are already integrated in the production systems. Only the largest landowners are able to

grow these legumes on a larger scale [mark ‘1’ in the upper right corner of Figure 7]. Indeed, the availability of land and

labor enables them such a diversification by independent plots for prophylaxis reason.

4.1.8. Agricultural revolution

During the second half of the twentieth century, the transition to a new agricultural system in which the reproduction

of fertility is almost no more assured by the fallow is evidenced by: 1) the almost complete disappearance of yam, 2) its

replacement by maize which becomes the new staple food, and 3) the integration of groundnut in the rotations.

Reproduction of fertility is then assured by the legumes and the vertical fertility transfers via sheanut and dawadaw

tress. This is an agricultural revolution.

4.2. 1970s and 1980s

4.2.1. 1970s and 1980s : Generalization of bullock ploughing

Animal traction gets widely distributed in the 1970s and becomes widespread in the 1980s. During this period,

although the original owners of pairs of bullocks and plough maintain their superior status with the renting

relationship, more and more farmers are able to access such an equipment as owners (notably thanks to programmes

of NGOs, international cooperation agencies and government departments). In brief, the tenants of cattle in the 1960s

that reach a surplus sufficient to feed a pair of bullocks and invest in a plough can gradually become owners [B2 C.4].

Similarly, the farmers ploughing with the hoe before [B.1] that have living capital become able to hire bullock services

because this technique is generalized which decreases the price. For this, they sell animals (sheep, goats and poultry) in

the early wet season. Depending on their level of capital and annual livestock production, they must complete or not

the ploughing with the hoe [C.2 and C.3, respectively].

The production system based entirely on plowing with a hoe [C.1] is less widespread as compared to the previous

period. It is always in trouble because the fertility crisis requires the extension of the farm to maintain the level of

production. These farmers provide work outside, especially on the farms of the richest that react to their new work

peak (weeding) by the use of daily workers.



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In the late 1980s, due to competition with the tractor, the regression of the cattle and the end of a major program of

German cooperation, the use of animal traction decreases. It is common to observe owners of bullocks become tenants

due to the definitive loss of the animals (theft, death without replacement) [C.5 and C.4 to D.3, D.4 and D.5 to E. 2].

4.2.2. 1980s : Livestock rearing drops

The regression of rearing is not new but becomes worrying in the 1980s. Most of the farmers explain it by thefts by

Fulani and diseases. While the massive coming of Fulani from the north since the 1940s and the development of

transport may have favoured the increase in thefts and epidemics, we cannot ignore other factors. Indeed, the global

fertility crisis combined with new economic needs (including the development of education in the 1980s) lead to a

massive diminution of capital. In addition, the steep decline of the hoe tillage leads to a minor presence - and therefore

a monitoring - in the fields and increases the risk of destruction by cattle. Last but not least, the decline in fallow affects

the availability of food for livestock. The context generally unfavourable to the maintenance of cattle herds, including

traction bullocks, is stronger in the north of our area and the severe drought of 1983 accentuated the trend. This

regression is also accelerated by the reduced availability of the children, who used to tend cattle, because they are

going to school. Only some of the richest farmers manage to keep a significant number of bovine animals, tens as a

maximum per family [C.5 in D.5], while the common herd could reach the hundred heads a hundred years before. It is

the same for sheep, goats and poultry all limited to a few dozen individuals maximum per farm (owned by women,

older son or the head). As for the land, the largest owners are almost exclusively members of the founding clans.

The breeding of domestic animals is conducted for the purpose of savings. The overall decrease in the number of

animals per farm is then not without consequences for their vulnerability to hazards and their investment capacity.

Those with the fewer animals are the hardest hit by the crisis in rearing. This category covers those who plough entirely

with the hoe [D.1]. The movement of capital diminution stops a little more their access to the animal traction.

The regression of cattle affects the sustainability of the Fulani farming system, especially because the immigration

continues in the area due to the drying of the sub-Saharan region. The space available for them is reduced continuously

even when the drought of Northern Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali continues to lead them in the study area. Provided

they have enough space to settle, then it is difficult to obtain enough cattle to take care of. In addition, uncultivated

plots that are used for grazing are also decreasing and conflicts between farmers and Fulani are increasing due to the

destruction of crops. As a result, the access to organic manure is generally more problematic even though it has many

advantages in the context of low fertility and high erosion hazard. Numbers of Fulani later evolve into a differentiated

system producing other crops on hired land (soybeans, watermelon, groundnuts) without organic fertilization.

4.2.3. 1980s : Groundnut as a cash crop

In addition to the mass education, the purchase of mineral fertilizers, the land rental and the tillage services lead to

new financial needs. The overall regression livestock makes the production systems less able to meet these needs

through the sale of animals and requires commercial crops. In connection with this situation and the fertility crisis,

groundnut cultivation extends further in the 1980s. Eventually, the groundnut is grown in rotation with maize on a two

year-basis. Only the poorest production systems are unable to make this change [mark ‘2’]. Indeed, their level of

consumption does not allow to keep sufficient seeds and they are too expensive to purchase them outside. Because

those farms do not have any sufficient fallow, the reproduction of their fertility is actually very difficult.

4.2.4. 1984 : The Ghana Cotton Company is watching you

The Ghana Cotton Company (GCC) begins is activities in 1984 in the Northern Region. Inputs and services are provided

in advance and the total production is bought at guaranteed prices. The GCC is also involved in the popularization of

animal traction in the 1980s by offering the service of bullock ploughing.

The development of the cotton is mainly due to the growing need for cash income. And the introduction of cotton in

cropping rotations is adapted to the context of low fertility. Indeed, the deep roots of cotton allow a vertical transfer of

fertility and chemical fertilization benefits to the next crop on the plot. The overall strategy for farmers is to place the

plant as the head of the rotation in order to get a follow-on effect from cotton for maize cropping. For the poorest

farmers, there is an additional effect through the direct diversion of some of the fertilizers for cotton on a plot of maize

[F.3, F.4 and F.5].

Cotton cropping is an attractive opportunity because it requires no cash advance for the inputs and tillage. However, it

is far from widespread because there is a significant work peak for the harvest in competition with the secondary

cereals crops and the post harvest operations. Few farmers have enough family labour to finish the harvest in time,



11

which means to use the external labour that not everyone can afford [mark ‘3’]. Note that this workforce is made up of

farmers coming from the Upper East Region, where the rainy season ends earlier.

4.3. 1990s

4.3.1. 1990s : Bullock ploughing decline and increase of private tractor owners

Due to the decline in cattle rearing and to the competition with the tractor, the bullock ploughing decreases

continuously and the owners of trained bullocks are always less numerous in the 1990s. Some owners are unable to

renew their pair and thus undergo a process of "decapitalization" accelerated by the attractiveness of the tractor. It

becomes more difficult to rent the bullock-ploughing services. Because of the larger regression of the cattle in the

north than in the south of the area, this difficulty is largely increased there.

The private owners of tractors, farmers, know a real multiplication in parallel. They supplant a part of the services of

tractors from the State or the GCC, both for tillage and transportation. Of course, people capable of such an investment

are scarce. They are almost exclusively wealthy members of the founding families who still have a sizeable herd of

cattle which the partial sale of it helps to invest. All of them already own the complete equipment for animal traction

[D.5 in E.4]. The purchase of the tractor is not just the fact of the sale of animals but also the sale of agricultural

products. Thus, the farmers who can apply the optimum dose of fertilizers and cropping a land of good quality have a

clear advantage in the release of marketable surplus and thus on their investment capacity. Once again, this is the case

of the founding families.

4.3.2. Features of the ownership of a tractor

Less than half an hour is needed to plough an acre with the tractor. The owners all have free land and can then expand

their crops largely by cancelling the most important work peak (ploughing). The choice of the date of labour enables an

optimal schedule and to obtain the highest potential yields. In addition, the opportunity of transportation of the

production is not neglectableble given the poor road conditions and the remoteness of the field. Finally, in contrast to

the animal traction, the tractor owner pays for the services of a worker and does not work himself. Because of the

speed of the tractor work, the less need of moisture in soils to plough and the double cost of the rental, the ownership

of a tractor releases more income than the ownership of bullocks. It far exceeds maintenance and operating expenses.

The owner has even more ability to apply the full dose of fertilizer on maize and, later, to have recourse to chemical

weed control.

Tractor ploughing also avoids weeding which is usually needed before the sowing of a late crop. This feature provides

the opportunity for cultivating late crops [mark ‘1’] for those whose capital is the highest [F.6, F.7, F.8, and F.9].

4.3.3. Renting of tractor services

Farmers currently seeking the service of the tractor ploughing [F.7 and F.8] are also able to have recourse to tenant

farming. Even if their fallow residues are limited, they are also able to increase the area worked per worker. However,

they do not receive additional income from the renting and the application of mineral fertilizers is reduced.

Numerous production systems would be viable with a ploughing which would be slower than the tractor. However,

especially since the 1990s, the low availability of bullocks lead many farmers to spend the double price (the value of a

bag of maize), often by borrowing money from moneylenders with a very high interest rate, to use a tractor for

ploughing. For those whose renting is not a sacrifice, the interest of the tractor is due to the possibility to plough

harder ground (less humid) and therefore to wait for less rains in the early season. This feature is very attractive in a

context of erratic rainfall.

In contrast with the farmers tilling entirely by tractor [F.7 and F.8], many are limited to the plot of maize which

cropping is a priority and groundnut tillage which allows the tractor to sow previously with broadcasting technique

which is much faster than digging with the stick. Unless the farmer owns bullocks [F.6], the vast majority of cotton

producers ask the tractor from the GCC whose price is paid only after harvesting.

Some farmers are still only little using the tractor. They are the owners of bullocks [F.6] or those whose capital is too

weak to till the entire surface of the tractor and practice so a tillage mixed (hoe, bullock and a low proportion of

tractor) [F .3, F.4, F.5]. In extreme cases, farmers whose capital is more limited are completely unable to hire a tractor

for ploughing [F.1 and F.2] and the worked area is then extremely limited and does not overpass 2 acres per worker

when the hoe is the only means used [F.1]. Sign of the profound evolution of the agrarian system in the twentieth

century, the hoe tillage is now only sporadically used. Apart from the poor production systems described above, the

hoe is still required for the cropping of some tubers (yams, cassava, sweet potatoes) and vegetables.



12

Anyway, the renting system involves a very high dependence vis-à-vis the arrival of the tractor. Significant yield losses

frequently occur because of a delay in the delivery of service for very many renting farmers. This is even more

pronounced for small farmers because the owner of the tractor prefers to travel to plough bigger areas.

4.3.4. Risks in the long run

Most tractor operators seem inexperienced. The depth of the plough disks and the speed of the tractor are sources of

concern about the erosion of the ground, site grading and maintenance of soil fertility. For the sustainability of the

farm, there would be so a disadvantage to plough completely with the tractor. Rare farmers, whose economic capacity

would enable them to rent the tractor for their entire surface, are alternating with animal power to limit the harmful

effects. The risk is contained for the founding families because of their regular rotation with fallows. Finally, the

generalization of the tractor ploughing is not in favor of maintaining the sheanut and dawadawa trees since the trees

are an obstacle. This is stressing the dangers for fertility.

4.3.5. 1990s : Rice cropping development by individuals

The development of rice cultivation by individuals (not managed by the State) is increasing in the 1980s and 1990s. The

old rice farms of the founding families extend [D.5 and E.4]. Probably due to the benefits of their investment in animal

traction, new farmers are able to obtain and clear a plot while managing the labour-intensive harvesting [D.4 and E.3].

Lowlands are the only area where it is still possible to benefit from a sufficient fertility thanks to the clearing of old

fallow. Therefore the interest of accessing lowlands - and to clear a portion – is obvious in the context of the crisis of

fertility and land full. As we said, the rice crop is socially, technically and economically demanding and all the farmers

are not able to carry it out [mark ‘4’]. The ability or not to grow rice on a large area (more than 5 acres) is an important

differentiating factor.

4.3.6. 1990s : Dry season gardening

The development of market gardening in the valley bottoms dates back to 1990 under the influence of local NGOs. It is

particularly marked in the northern communities that have broad access to such areas and that have good accessibility

from Walewale for marketing. The production of vegetables (tomatoes, onions, amaranth and pepper in particular)

takes place during dry season in gardens usually surrounded by a wall.

It seems that the development of such economic activity is involved in the reduction of economic migration in dry

season towards the south of the country that developed in the 1970s and 1980s (especially for the cocoa plantations,

mines and small business). However, in communities from the south of the study area, market gardening activity

remains quite rare due to the lower accessibility (track built much later) and the relative scarcity of suitable

ecosystems.

The daily watering means a lot of work but it is no competing with any other agricultural activity in this period. Market

gardening could be possible for any type of farmer. But a few founding families own almost the entire land of talwegs

and the adapted areas now available for others are very limited. They were the only ones able to develop dry-season

gardening [F.9 and reference 5]. This gives them a significant additional income in the dry season and strengthens their

ability to highly fertilize their maize field.

4.3.7. 1990s : Introduction of soyabean

Soybean is introduced in our study area in the mid-1990s by NGOs and the Ministry of Agriculture. The objective is

threefold: to increase the protein part of the diet, to incorporate a new legume in the crop rotations in response to the

fertility crisis and to provide a new opportunity to increase the farming income. The spreading of soybean was very fast

in the last decade and does not show any sign of stopping. Concerning the cropping calendar, cultivation is competing

with maize. The adoption of the legume makes it difficult for poor farmers for whom the workforce - limited – is

working as a priority on maize [mark ‘6’]. The owners of bullocks do the weeding by passing the plough a second time

(reploughing) [E.3 and F.6]. This technique is an advantage that promotes their diversification.

Some of the poorest farmers grow legumes like soybeans only because the seeds are cheaper than groundnuts and

because the market is less saturated. While soybean appears to produce more biomass, rich in nitrogen, the overall

effectiveness of each legume in the net input of nitrogen to the plot has to be determined.

4.3.8. 1990s: Land hiring and annual lease of tenant farming

The process of lineage segmentation becomes really critical during the 1990s. Inappropriate land freely available is

scarce, especially since some farms have been extended thanks to the use of the tractor. The system of tenant farming



13

is growing and 'redistributes' the land between farms with fallow land that can be leased and those looking for land to

expand. The lease is annual and is paid in kind at harvest in order to 'show gratitude' to the owner. This helps ensuring

the renewal of the lease. Obviously, farmers in low social status and showing low yields are the most affected by the

insecurity of this land tenure system.

The system does not encourage farmers to ‘invest’ (to reproduce the fertility and the humus rate of the soil) in his plot

because there is no guarantee regarding the annual renewal of the lease. Losing the rent is a risk that appears to be

limited but when the rented space represents a small portion of the farm, crops are mainly soybeans and watermelon

in continuous cropping, not the main or fertilizing crops such as maize and groundnuts. In the long run, this informal

system seems risky for the maintenance of fertility, particularly for farmers of low social capital. In conclusion, since the

extension of the poorest sustainable is difficult and those of the richest unnecessary, only the intermediate categories

are able to use the tenant farming system [F.4, F.5, F.6, F.7 and F. 8] in different proportions.

Farmers who rent out to others are either members of the few founding families whose the excess of fallow allows

both to integrate it into the crop rotation and to rent a portion [F.9], or among the poorest farmers whose factors of

production do not allow the full cropping of their property [F.1 F.2 F.3 and sometimes]. No one, including the most

disadvantaged, rent to the detriment of its farming activity.

4.3.9. 1990s: First chemical fertilizers

In the study area, the first mineral fertilizers are use by individuals from the 1990s on. Despite efforts to strongly

integrate the groundnut and other legumes, the mineral fertilizers introduced by the Ministry of Agriculture meet a

real need. Using fertilizers, it is now possible to almost double its performance for maize: about 0,5 t/ acre without

fertilization but in rotation with groundnut, to almost 1 t/ acre with the recommended dose put each year (15 uN/ acre

in the form of 15-15-15 at the time of elongation and 10 uN/ acre as sulfate of ammonia 21% in the earing). The yields

of the most vulnerable farmers who do not even grow groundnuts in rotation with maize are less than 0,4 t/ acre.

While there are few plots of millet and sorghum fertilized and carried out in pure culture, the mineral fertilizers are

primarily used for maize.

Obviously, the farmers who can use these mineral fertilizers are the richest, specifically those with available cash early

in the rainy season. Indeed, a bag of 50 kg of NPK (15-15-15) costs almost the price of a bag of maize at harvest for a

standard performance of ten 100 kg-bags of maize. These production systems are those where the surplus globally

shown allow to bring sufficient cash to cross the gap period and to reach the start of the rainy season. These systems

could also be those for which early productions (including groundnuts and watermelon) are sufficient to show a surplus

used to purchase fertilizers. The access to mineral fertilizers is almost denied to poorest farmers and those showing

surplus that are too small [F.1 and F.2]. For the other farmers, there is a gradient of decreasing quantity for fertilizers

supplied o the maize plot (from the recommended dose) with the decrease of the wealth [F.9 to F.3].

4.3.10. 1990s : First herbicides

The use of herbicides by individuals in our area appears in the late 1990s. The products are pre-emergence (total) or

post-emergence (selective). Their use can divide by more than ten the amount of work needed to weed one acre (4 to

8 md/acre against a few hours). The cost of these chemical inputs is relatively low (12 GHC / ha), but all categories of

farmers cannot use them.

It is for rice cropping that the use of herbicides is the most discriminating. The most intensive cropping systems use the

two types of chemical weed control: the plot is cleaned with a total herbicide and then, once flooded, a selective

herbicide application is done (easy and fast).

There is no production system using herbicide on the maize plot even though many are employing workers, much more

expensive. Hence the hypothesis is that the selective herbicides available are not sufficiently effective. For all the non-

late crops (groundnuts, maize, secondary cereals as pure, soybeans), the site preparation occurs when no other farm

work exists. Thus, the total herbicide is very little used, even by the richest. In contrast, the late crops (cowpeas,

bambara beans, rice) benefit greatly from the use of total herbicide for the plot preparation because the plot is well

grassed and farmers are involved in the weeding of other crops. Farmers with cash during the rainy season are better

able to integrate these late crops.



14

4.4. 2000s

4.4.1. 2000s : Watermelon

Watermelon is now very widely used in production systems. Despite its very recent introduction in the area, there are

less than ten years, it is almost impossible to certify the origin. The short cycle of watermelon (just over two months) is

a real opportunity for farmers because they can fill their crop calendar.

Watermelon can be planted at the beginning of the rainy season (April-May) either on the uplands or in the lowlands. A

cycle of maize (uplands) or rice (lowlands) is realized after harvest in June-July. This option is very attractive for farmers

because the harvest of watermelon provides cash for the end of the gap period and can finance the purchase of

mineral fertilizers for maize. This strategy requires that the maize is not associated with a secondary cereal (sorghum or

millet) and that the farmer is able to stand such a loss. Only the richest farmers are practicing those cropping systems

[F.6, F.7, F.8, and F.9] and are getting besides good yields for maize. Watermelon can also sometimes be implanted late

after a cycle of groundnut or maize.

Since they cannot afford a second ploughing during the wet season, the farmers with lower level of capital [F.4 and F.5]

do not sow maize after the cycle of watermelon. They combine millet (sparse sowing) in the watermelon plot to

maximize the use of the land while limiting costs (no need for second ploughing). The poorest farmers [F.1, F.2 and F.3]

cannot afford to associate the watermelon with millet instead of maize because they do not reach the self-sufficiency

in grain. Their capital is not allowing them to provide the necessary inputs (seeds, insecticides and fertilizer minerals)

and to plow with the tractor, they do not grow watermelon [reference 7].

In conclusion, the cultivation of watermelon is a great opportunity for many farmers in the area by allowing them to fill

their cropping calendar. The investment required appears to be relatively small compared to the additional income it

can provide and the importance of such contributions in calendar terms (when the cash is at its lowest). The added

value of the watermelon surface is twice the one of maize under high fertilization.

The only operation that is labour-intensive is the harvesting, which must be made on the day the buyer comes. The

producer uses available women and children from around and pays them in kind. The role of the earned income is not

neglectable for the purchase of fertilizers and for land rental.

The vast majority of uplands are suitable and available for the production of watermelon and the risk of

overproduction is present. The sale price is highly volatile and the sale itself is dangerously dependent on the arrival of

buyers. In 2010, the losses were enormous because of the lack of marketing time. It is clear that the sustainable

development of this production requires at least a first organization of the value chain.

4.4.2. 2000s : Monetarization of land hiring

In the north, due to the influence of Walewale and of the eastward road, the land crisis is more pronounced. Farmers

have tried an original system: a landowner who does not have the necessary means to plough with the tractor may

request the service from another farmer. In exchange, he gives him half of the whole plot for the year. This system

lasted only a few years due to the divergence of interests (risks related to the expectation of the tractor in particular).

Later, the very recent attribution of a prize to the land reproduces the need for the farmer to 'show his gratitude' to

the owner by in-kind donations in order to secure his rent. However, in the north of the area, one acre (0.4 hectare)

can be rented almost 10 GHC in 2009, well above the value of the gift. In 2011, it costs 50% more, which is the sign of

the profound crisis of access to the land. The system remains ambiguous since the tradition is very reluctant to any sale

of the land and the owner is responsible to the Chief.

4.4.3. 2000s : Tenant farming for small-scale rice cropping

Globally, today, few farmers in the area are specialized in rice cropping but many are marginally involved in this

production, especially in the south of the area. The rice plot is generally considered as small or medium scale (less than

2 acres) as an 'extension' of the farm by tenant farming. This cash crop is used to generate a cash income which is

higher than from maize (food crop). The intensive systems with hand weeding and without fertilization are attractive to

some farmers with low levels of capital and whose land is full, if they have enough labour to harvest. In addition, access

to a plot of lowland is easier in the south than in the north of the area. Farmers in the intermediate categories rather

located in the south of the area [F.4] are cultivating rice more frequently than those in the north [F.5].

In recent years, state subsidies are applied to a set of equipment including tractor, truck and harrow. Farmers who

recently purchased a tractor are so technically able to grow rice with harrowing after sowing for a high potential yield.



15

For all the owners [F.9], the full availability of the tractor is the assurance of a fast threshing (by pressure of the tires on

the straw hill) and this greatly reduces the risk of destruction by the common bush fires.

Finally, even if it is not fair between middlemen and producers, the marketing of rice is ensured by the growing market

of Walewale. Rice production, strongly supported by projects such as the RSSP, seems a development opportunity in

the future for the most of the production systems.

4.4.4. 2000s: Subsidies for chemical fertilizers and tractors

Since 2003-2004, the Ghanaian State subsidizes half the price of mineral fertilizers and thus allows a wide access for

farmers to these inputs whose price is structurally growing. This policy has a crucial influence on yields. Now, even if all

the farmers cannot use the recommended dose of fertilizers, those that do not apply any mineral fertilization on maize

are very rare and even the poorest ones [F.1] manage to get some bowls of NPK.

At the same time, the State has established a subsidy to purchase a tractor at half the price. It is too early to judge the

effects of such a policy even if it is very likely that it contributes to the popularization of the tractor in the area by

allowing new farmers [F.7 and F.8] to reach the property.

4.4.5. 2011 : Cotton production revival

Recently, the GCC has been privatized after several years of inefficient logistics and payment systems. In 2011, there is

the launch of a private cotton company in the area. The systems of supplying of inputs and services in advance, setting

a sale price before sowing and deducting the payments after harvest are still used but the financial aspects are no

longer shared between the producers. Many farmers have confidence in the change of management structure and the

significant increase in demand for cotton (and prices), thus they return to cotton cropping. The value added per unit

area of this crop is particularly attractive for farmers whose maize yields are low.

4.5. Underlying trends of the agricultural system in the 20th century

During the twentieth century, the agrarian system has radically changed as a result of several underlying trends (Figure

8). To get satisfactory yields doest no longer rely on the clearing of a fallowed plot but on the integration of legumes

and cotton in crop rotations and the contribution of mineral fertilizers. The fertility crisis is coupled with the difficulty

for most of the farmers to access to the land, making it difficult for them to extend their farm.

The new economic needs, including education, are numerous and require a diversification of production systems

towards cash crops. The land and fertility crisis are reinforcing this trend stressed by the widespread diminution of the

livestock rearing. If the farmer is able, the use of outside workforce is a support of this diversification. The current

farming systems are positioned according to their adaptations to the triple crisis of fertility, land and livestock.

5. Rice cropping systems in the lowlands

5.1. Continuously cropped rice (Rice//)

5.1.1. Rice: cropping practices and economic performances

Rice is the major crop in the lowlands. The local variety ‘Mandee’, with a 5 month-duration cycle, is almost the only one

to be cultivated in the study area.

Land preparation consists in the burning of the previous year’s straws. This is realised between January and april

included, when the land is dry and there are no other farm works to carry out.

Ploughing is almost exclusively made by tractor since heavy soils make it very hard to plough with the hoe or with

bullocks. This generalized recourse to tractor services is the reason for heavy yield losses because the lack of tractor

operators implies a long waiting of the farmer. This difficulty is even worse for small-scale rice farmers, indeed the

tractor operator prefers to make cost-effective trips, that is to say on big plots rather on several small plots.

Rice is usually sown or broadcast in July. By that time, some weeds have already developed, which makes tractor

ploughing even more interesting. Rice is also the only crop in the study area for which total herbicides (glyphosate) are

the most commonly used (before or just after the sowing). However, we were not able to point out any effect of total

herbicides on the level of yield, so we will not consider it in the cropping practices. In addition to this, the use of

herbicide varies from year to year depending on the condition of the plot and on the financial capability of the farmer.



16

Some farmers only apply total herbicide and do not weed after that. This can be sufficient for weed control when the

flooding comes early enough to control weed germination.

The sowing is either done by broadcasting or in seed holes (5 to 10 seeds per hole). The first practice is of course less

time-consuming since it requires only 0.5 md/acre whereas sowing in seed holes requires about 8 md/acre. However, it

also prevents any space control between the seeds, therefore the germination rate is usually smaller. Moreover, to get

the same yield, there is a need of three times as many seeds when broadcasting (42 kg/acre) as compared to seed hole

sowing (14 kg/acre). Some of the richest farmers broadcast and then harrow to improve the germination rate while

benefiting from the rapidity of the broadcasting.

Three types of weeding exist. Hoe weeding is similar to the one practiced on other crops; it is done with the small hoe

and can be realised during the first weeks of the cycle, before the flooding, but only if the field was sown in seed holes

in line. When water floods the plot, a hand weeding can be done to uproot the weeds that are resistant to water

(especially the false rice Echinochloa oryzoides). Finally, a selective, post-emergence herbicide can be used. This

operation is about 10 times faster than hoe (about 10 md/acre) and hand weeding (about 8 md/acre). However, this

can be done only if water is not too high, else the product is too diluted and is no more effective. In that case, it should

be replaced by a hand weeding.

Finally, the level of nitrogen fertilization is the last criterion that differentiates rice cropping practices and yields. Some

farmers can put as much as 25 units of nitrogen per acre (2 bags of NPK 15-15-15, 1 bag of sulfate of ammonia 21%)

when others can’t afford any fertilization or maximum 8 units of nitrogen per acre (1 bag of NPK 15-15-15).

The table below sums up the cropping practices that have been identified for rice cultivation in the lowlands. The

lowest yields are 400 kg/acre (about 5 bags), they can reach up to 2 t/acre (about 25 bags) in some rare cases.

Rice cultivation takes between 30 and 50 man-days per acre.

Rice cropping systems Ploughing Sowing

Sowing

density

(kg/acre)

Fertilisation

(uN/acre) Yield (t/acre)

S1a Selective

herbicide (by

default)

T Stick (seed

holes)

14 (1/6

bag)

>15 uN 1,2-2,1

S1b < 8 uN 0,8-1,2

S2a 2 weedings

(hoe+hand) 0 à 8 uN 0,8-1,0

S3 1 weeding 0 0,6-0,8

B1

Selective

herbicide (by

default)

T

Broadcasting

+ Harrowing

42 (1/2

bag)

< 8 uN

0,8-1,2

B2a

Broadcasting

> 15 uN

1,2-2,1

B2b < 8 uN

0,7-1,0

B3a 1 weeding < 8 uN 0,7-1,0

B4 No weeding < 8 uN 0,6-0,8

Technical performances linked to the different rice cropping practices identified in the study area

(S= Sowing, B=Broadcasting)

The economic performances of these cropping practices are presented in the table 22 below for a retail price of GHC

35/ 85 kg-bag.



17

Rice

cropping

systems

GP/acre (GHC) Charges/acre

(GHC) GVA/acre (GHC) Total md/acre

GVA/acre/md

(GHC)

S1a 700 130 570 33 17

S1b 438 100 338 33 10

S2a 385 60 325 50 7

S3 298 60 238 42 6

B1 438 145 293 28 10

B2a 700 150 550 27 20

B2b 350 130 220 27 8

B3a 350 100 250 29 9

B4 298 52 246 21 12

For each sowing practice (S or B), there is a gradient of productivity by unit of area (GVA/acre). Indeed, the biggest GVA

is in each case obtained for the highest chemical fertilisation, which often goes together with weedings done

“chemically”. In addition to this, the application of herbicide is much faster than hand or hoe weedings. In conclusion,

the highest productivities by unit of area and by day of work are obtained for the most capital-intensive itineraries.

For the cropping itineraries S1a and B2a, the productivity of work is exceptionally high (respectively GHC 17 and GHC

20/md/acre).This is due to the nature of the weedings and to the application of chemical fertilizers, with yields well

responding to these factors, especially in the fertile soils of the lowlands.

We can note that the itinerary B1 does not follow the productivity gradient. Indeed, even with chemical weeding and

with harrowing to increase the germination rate, the quantity of fertilizer is only of 8 uN/acre. This can be attributed to

the beginning of an strategy of extensification in capital on big areas planted to rice. This itinerary is rarely practiced by

farmers.

5.1.2. Rice cropping system: rice cropped continuously (Rice//))

The most represented rice cropping system in the study area consists in a continuous cropping of rice. Indeed, until

now, the fertility of soils in the lowlands seems to be sufficient and reproduced from year to year, which allows farmers

to crop rice every year. Most of the rice plots in the lowlands have been cultivated for only ten or twenty years, and the

annual flooding and drainage guarantee a good reproduction of the fertility.

Technical and economic performances of the continuous rice cropping system in the lowlands can be assessed by

reference to one year of cropping with the concerned itinerary (see 5.4.6.).

5.1.3. Variations of the rotation Rice//

5.1.3.1. Watermelon/Rice//

Watermelon can be cropped not only in the uplands but also in the loamy and clay-loam soils of the lowlands. It

represents a valuable opportunity to increase the value added per unit of area.

The insertion of watermelon in the cropping calendar is managed the same way as it is with maize. There is no

intercropping of watermelon with the cereal crop, the two cropping cycles are separate. Watermelon is cropped first

and after harvesting the field is ploughed again and rice is cropped.

Cropping early watermelon before rice is possible only in the portions of lowlands where the flooding comes late

enough, namely no before august, to allow the harvesting of watermelon and the sowing of rice. Indeed rice needs to

reach a certain height before it can be flooded. Since these conditions are depending on the rainfall pattern and on the

nature of the soil, we cannot attribute this cropping system to any farming system. Even if we considered it, there is a

great inter-annual variability of the start of the flooding on a single field.

The tables below sum up the technical and economic performances of watermelon cultivation. We can see that, thanks

to good retail prices and small charges, the GVA/acre is very high (GHC 826 to 856 as compared to GHC 570 for the

most capital-intensive rice cropping itinerary). This shows that by cropping early watermelon before rice, the



18

GVA/acre can be increased to GHC 1000-1400 instead of GHC 240-570, that is to say multiplied by three. However, as

we said before, there is the risk of not being able to sow rice in time after the watermelon cycle.

Cropping

itinerary -

Watermelon

Ploughing

Fertilis

ation

(uN/ac

re)

Number of

weedings

Insecticide

tablets

Number of

insecticide

sprayings

Number

of

harvests

Yield

(groups

of 65)

1 standard Tractor 8 uN 1 ou 2 1sachet/ac 4 à 7 3 11-24

Technical performances of watermelon cultivation

Cropping

itinerary -

Watermelon

GP/acre

(GHC) Charges/acre (GHC)

GVA/acre

(GHC)

total

md/acre GVA/acre/md (GHC)

1 928 72 (tractor owner) 856

39 22

102 (tractor hirer) 826 21

Economic performances of watermelon cultivation

5.1.3.2. Maize/Rice//

The same way as for watermelon, maize can stand the soils of the lowlands if they are not too hydromorphic. The cycle

of yellow maize is short enough (3 months) to crop it in good conditions before cropping rice. In this cropping system,

maize is harvested in July, then after ploughing, rice is sown. To be able to practice this cropping system, the farmer

has to be capable of affording two ploughings in a year on the field.

Maize can be cropped according to several cropping itineraries (depending on the level of fertilization, the means of

ploughing, the sowing density), and produces a GVA ranging from GHC 300 to GHC 500/acre. This means that the

GVA/acre when cropping early maize before rice rises from GHC 240-570 to approximately GHC 540-1070, which

means that the value added on this single acre is at least doubled.

Cropping early maize in a lowland rice field presents several advantages. First as we just said it allows the farmer to

increase the value added per unit of area in his field, which is very interesting in a context of difficult access to the land.

Secondly the farmer can increase its maize production, which is the staple, with the same farm area and where the

fertility of the soils is the best. Moreover, it concerns early maize, which, as the maize planted around the house,

allows to have food for the end of the gap period while waiting for the next harvests.

In conclusion, even if areas and quantities might not always be very important, this maize plays a crucial role in the

calendar, the strategy and the perpetuation of the farming systems. However, for the same reasons as with

watermelon, we cannot attribute this cropping system to any of the farming systems in the study area. Therefore we

limit this analysis to the increase in the value added, and the qualitative role of maize.

5.1.3.3. Rice5//Fallow5//

Rice farmers of the highest socio-economic status sometimes own portions of fallow land in the lowlands. It is often

the same farmers as the ones having fallows in the uplands. They commonly practice a rice cropping system based on a

rotation with the fallow. Here we consider the most common exemple of this system: a few years of cropping rice (5

years) followed by a short-duration fallow (5 years), before cropping again on this field.

The farmers practicing this cropping system are capable of having a complete clearing of the field as early as the first

year. Indeed they can hire temporary workforce to complete their own, and no stump or trees are left. This complete

clearing requires between 4 and 7 md/acres. The first year after clearing, a harrowing is generally done to level the

field and increase the germination rate.

Thanks to the fallow effect, the weed pressure is very low during the first years. In years 1 and 2, no weeding or

chemical herbicide is necessary, and in year 3 a single uprooting is generally sufficient to manage the weeds. In

addition to this, the fallow contributes to the regeneration of the fertility, thus no fertilizer is put (see table below).



19

Rice on fallow Ploughing Sowing

Sowing

density

(kg/acre)

Number and

techniques of

weeding

Fertilisation Yield (t/acre)

B5a Year 1

T

Broadcasting

(+harrowing) 42

none none

0,4-0,7

B5b Year 2 Broadcasting

0,6-0,8

B3b Year 3 uprooting 0,6-0,8

Economic performances of rice//fallow cropping system

As the table above shows, the yields for the rice cropping systems including fallow are not the best of all the rice

cropping systems. However, they are obtained for a minimum input quantity (no fertilisation) and thus allow to create

higher value added per unit of area and per manday as compared to the other systems (see table below).

Rice

cropping

system

GP/acre

(GHC)

Charges/acre

(GHC) GVA/acre (GHC) Total mandays/acre GVA/acre/manday(GHC)

B5a 245 44 201 25 8

B5b 298 44 254 20 13

B3b 298 44 254 28 9

Economic performances of rice cropping systems on fallow

In years 4 and 5, rice is cropped according to one of the previous rice cropping systems with no fallow. Then follow 5

years of fallow on the field. Globally, the annual economic results of this cropping system are obtained by calculating

the average of the results of the 5 years of fallow (unproductive) and of the 5 years of cropping divided by the total

number of years of the cycle (10 years) (see table below).

For the cropping itinerary B2a in years 4 and 5 which is mostly practiced by rich farmers owning fallow areas, the table

below presents the economic results for the rice cropping system on fallow for each year as well as the annual result

on the 10 years of the cycle.

Year

Rice

cropping

system


(GHC)

GVA/acre

(GHC)

Total

mandays/acre GVA/acre/manday(GHC)

1 B5a 245 44 201 25 8

2 B5b 298 44 254 20 13

3 B3b 298 44 254 28 9

4 B2a 700 150 550 27 20

5 B2a 700 150 550 27 20

6-10 Fallow 0 0 0 0 0

Annual result : 224 43 181 13 14

Global economic performances of the rice cropping systems on fallow

The gross value added per unit of area of the rice cropping system on fallow is very low as compared to the one

obtained for the other rice cropping systems in continuous cropping (GHC 181 compared to at least GHC 220). This is

consequent to the first years of fallow which are unproductive. However, the charges are very low during the first years

and thus the productivity of work (GVA/manday) is quite high (GHC 14) and higher than most of those of the

continuous rice cropping systems (between GHC 6 and 20);



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6. Rice cropping systems in the open valley bottoms

In the valley bottoms, some parts that have been cleared can be cropped to rice. The cropping practices in these open

valley bottoms are globally the same as in the lowlands, except that there is not cropping system including fallow.

The major difference is that of the flooding since it often comes earlier in the valley bottoms and it has also a higher

level. The water also comes “faster” because of the stream and its banks in the valley bottom. Consequently, there is a

higher risk of partial or total lost of the harvest when there is too much water (level or duration) or of destruction of

the crop when the water is “too fast”.

In addition, the flooding comes not only from upland drainage and rainfall, but also from the swelling of the central

stream. Therefore, annual loam deposits allow a better soil fertility in these places than in the lowlands. This explains

the lesser amount of fertilizer put on these fields.

The farmers cropping rice in open valley bottoms are all directly related to the founding families. The vast majority of

these farmers also crops rice in the lowlands. Therefore we will not consider in this study rice cropping systems in the

valley bottoms as distinguished from those in the lowlands, but rather as an extension of rice fields with higher yields

for the cropping system considered.

7. Current farming systems

The farming systems in the study area can be differentiated according to their level of capital, land access and

availability of labour.

6.1. Manual farming, little diversification and low level of fertilisation (types F1 and F2)

The first group of farming systems (type F1 and F2, see figures 9 and 10 respectively) is based on cereal cropping with

very little diversification, and hoe ploughing. They often have little family labour and for this reason they are not able

to crop all their land, which is often only on uplands. Their level of capital is also limiting, thus they cannot afford much

fertilizer. They are the poorest farmers of the study area. Hoe ploughing is the work peak, representing 4 to 5 days of

work per acre.

Type F1: Manual cereal cropping, no or very little fertilization

The first type within this group represents the most vulnerable farmers. Their system is indeed entirely based on maize

and secondary cereal (millet and guinea corn) cropping because they cannot afford groundnut seeds.

They put the priority on maize cropping (often intercropped with another cereal crop), with sometimes also a plot of

sole millet or sole guinea corn, cropped late in order to stagger the work peaks. Their cropping system is very labour-

intensive, and they can sometimes weed even up to 3 times to ensure minimum yields.

Capital is very limiting to this type of farming system, which has no or little access to means of fertility management,

such as groundnut or chemical fertilizer. Workforce is also limiting, thus in addition to the lack of capital, the workforce

available does not allow them to clear any new land, especially lowland, even if they don’t farm all their family land.

Due to these factors, the maximum area they can farm is about 3 acres per farmer, hoeing being the biggest work peak

and the limiting operation. All in all, they are very dependent on crop rotation (between cereals), but with no legume

crops and very little fertilizer, maize yields are often very low (about 350 kg/acre), which does not allow them to reach

self-sufficiency. Obviously, this type of farmer is not able to go into rice cropping because of lack of land, capital and

workforce.

This difficult situation can be explained by their low socio-economic status and often by the late settling of their family.

They often have to sell their workforce on rich people’s farms (up to 20 mandays/year) for weeding works. This

relationship feeds their dependence and their position in the socio-economic hierarchy. Their workforce is so limiting

that they often cannot participate in mutual help groups since they cannot offer a fair exchange of days of work.

Type 2: Manual maize and groundnut cropping, little diversification and low fertilization

Type 2 corresponds to the farming systems based on the crop rotation maize/groundnut, both intercropped with either

millet or guinea corn, almost exclusively ploughed by hoe.



21

They have access to the same kind of land as type 1 (upland) but generally have a slightly bigger capital level which

enables them to have a less critical management of fertility: they indeed have a more regular access to groundnut

seeds, and to some fertilizer, but always a very limited amount (4 to 8 uN/acre). Thanks to the rotation of groundnut

with maize and the use of fertilizers, they can reach maize yields up to 500 kg/acre. Globally, they mostly depend on

their family labour, as well as on mutual help, especially for weedings. The area cropped per farmer can reach 2.5 acres

maximum because of the competition in terms of works between maize and groundnut.

Their low ability to manage many crops is not favourable to go into rice production. In addition to their probable

difficulty to clear a fresh land, their low social status makes it difficult for them to get a lowland.

Conclusion on types 1 and 2

Despite the potential interest of cotton cropping in terms of fertility management and cash flow, these two types

cannot afford to crop any. Their workforce is indeed insufficient to manage the harvest (frequently in competition with

secondary cereals’ harvests) and they cannot afford to hire any day labourers.

While type 1’s capital is too limiting, type 2 can set up a livestock system with an aim of anti-risk savings. They often

breed poultry (guinea fowls and fowls) which numeric productivity is very interesting. This can represent up to 30% of

their annual agricultural income and allows them to face urgent needs all year round.

The agricultural income per family worker shown by these farming systems is around the survival threshold

established at GHC 700/year (see figure 20). Off-farm work and recourses to loans allow them to satisfy their family

needs. Under 2 acres/family worker, the agricultural income does not allow the farmer to live and feed his family.

6.2. Maize/Groundnut cropping with mixed ploughing, medium diversification and fertilisation (types F.3, F.4,

F.5)

Farmers of types F.3, F.4 and F.5 (respectively figures 11, 12 and 13) have different means of ploughing : hoe and

bullock plough (F.3), or tractor and bullock plough (F.4 and F.5). The ones located in the south of the study area plough

more area by bullock plough than in the north because bullocks are more easily available.

The rising gradient of capital between these three types (from F.3 to F.5) explains the increase in the amount of

fertilizer use on maize: 15 uN/acre for type F.3 (yield: 600 kg/acre), 18 uN/acre for type F.4 (yield: 850 kg/acre) and 25

uN/acre for type F.5 (yield: 1t/acre).

They all crop cotton for the cash income it provides and the fertility effect (follow-on effect and diversion), since they

are all capable of hiring day labourers for the harvest. Diversifying through cotton cropping for type F.3 aims at

increasing the value added per unit of area since the value added of cotton is bigger than that of maize. The

importance of cotton in the fertilisation of the field decreases with the increase of the financial capability of using

chemical fertilizers.

The diversification of types 4 and 5 is greater. They can integrate soyabeans and watermelon in their cropping pattern

since they are able to hire a tractor to plough. These farmers have enough cash flow to reduce the work peak of the

ploughing and therefore can cultivate these two crops. Watermerlon is intercropped with a secondary cereal, which

harvest allows to put chemical fertilizer in time on the maize of the year. In relation with their location more in the

south of the study area, farmers of type F.4 often crop rice, sown in seed holes with a stick, on small plots.

Thanks to faster ploughing means and the hiring of external labour, the area cropped per family worker ranges from

3 acres (type F.3) to more than 4 acres (types F.4 and F.5).

As compared to types F.1 and F.2, off-farm work is much less important and these families are able to participate to

mutual help groups. The land property is often entirely cultivated. Farmers of type F.4 and F.5 can even extend their

farm by hiring some more land (usually less than 3-4 acres) to crop watermelon or rice. This never represents more

than 20% of their farm land.

The greater level of capital of types F.3, F.4 and F.5 as compared to F.1 and F.2 enables them to breed, in addition to

some fowls, a couple of goats and/or sheep, straying in dry season and fed at the peg in farming season. Therefore they

can cover punctual financial needs, as well as gifts for ceremonies.



22

In conclusion, the agricultural income of type F.3 is similar to that of types F.1 and F.2 (namely between GHC 200 to

GHC 1000/year) when types F.4 and F.5 show a much bigger agricultural income (GHC 600 to GHC 1600/year) (see

figure 20).

6.3. Bullock owners, high level of diversification and fertilization (F.6)

Through the ownership of a set of bullocks and a plough, farmers from this type are much less dependent on the hiring

of tractor and therefore are much more reactive to the rains. Indeed they can decide on the date of ploughing and

sowing, which allows them to limit the risks of bad germination.

Apart from the regular maize and groundnut cropping (with secondary cereal intercropped), they are often highly

diversified, notably through cotton which they can insert in the rotation before maize for fertility purposes, as well as

soyabeans, beans, millet or guinea corn, and watermelon. They can take advantage of their own bullocks to do a

reploughing on cotton as well as on soyabeans (much faster than hoe weedings). In addition to this, they can grow late

crops, especially beans, millet or guinea corn, by staggering the work of bullock ploughing. This requires a prior step of

slashing the weeds, which is made possible by the availability of family labour. They often resort to tractor services only

for ploughing their groundnut farm because it enables them to broadcast it and thus to save time. As they can afford

tractor services, they usually replough after a cycle of watermelon, and sow maize after. This way they increase the

value added per unit of area without needing to increase the farmland, which is impossible for the previous types.

Since they have their own equipment and they also are able to hire day labourers, these farmers can crop up to 6.5

acres/family worker, which is higher than for the previous types.

Their vulnerability in terms of fertility management is not as high as for the other types since they can afford a high

level of fertilization (25 uN/acre) and a high level of diversification including many legume crops and sometimes even

some manure if they have a few cows at the Fulani’s. Consequently their maize yields often reach 1.2 t/acre.

Finally most of these farmers have access to a lowland for rice cultivation, which generally represents less than 1/3 of

their farm in such a case. They often have a cropping system based on sowing in seed holes (labour-intensive, for which

they can hire day labourers for sowing and harvesting) and a relatively low level of inputs.

Their livestock system is based on fowls, goats and sheep, in addition to their set of bullocks (given to the Fulanis in dry

season). Livestock allows them to get an extra income of about GHC 800/years.

Thanks to their very good yields as well as their diversification towards high value added-crops, their agricultural

income is about twice (GHC 1400 to GHC 3100) that of types F.4 and F.5 (see figure 19 and 20).

6.4. Tractor ploughing, high level of diversification and fertilisation, rice cropping (F.7 and F.8)

Farmers that are capable of hiring tractor services for ploughing for their whole farm are gathered under the types F.7

and F.8 (see figures 15 and 16).This situation allows them to move the work peak on the weeding operations. They are

also all capable of cropping maize with a high level of fertilization of 25 uN/acre. They also fertilize soyabeans, which is

quite rare in the study area.

Farmers of type F.8 are the only farmers to crop maize as a sole crop, and two times more dense (16 kg of seeds/acre

instead of 6 to 8 kg/acre). When those of type F.7 get maize yields of about 1t/acre, they can reach up to 1.5t/acre on

average for the type F.8.

In addition to this, they also all crop cotton to get some cash income, and without diverting the fertilizer, soyabeans,

watermelon, secondary cereals. Most of all, they crop rice at a medium-scale (generally about 4 acres) for type F.7 and

at a bigger scale (8 acres) for type F.8, in lowland fields that have been inherited from their family. Their average yields

are of about 800 kg/acre. Their cash flow enables them to keep the harvest and to wait for the prices to rise before

selling their grain. This way, they create a much higher value added as compared to the previous types for a similar

quantity of work.

The higher level of capital of type F.8 allows them to hire more day labourers for sowings and mostly for weedings.

Therefore they can increase their diversification and the commercial orientation of their farm. This also allows them to

extend their farm by hiring more land (between 10 and 40% of their total farm land), because they are capable of

cropping more than the previous types: up to 9 acres/family worker (7 acres/family worker for type F.7). However,

their financial capacities are not enough to reach the ownership of the tractor and the plough. The governmental

subsidies are likely to reach this type of farmers, enabling them to become type F.9 farmers.



23

Farmers from type F.8 are often descending from founding families, which partly explains their ownership of cattle

(about 5 for a family), given to the Fulani herdsmen. Globally their livestock income is therefore 4 times bigger than

that of type F.7 who does not own any cattle (GHC 1220 against GHC 380/year).

While the agricultural income of farmers of type F.7 (GHC 1300 to GHC 3300/year) is similar to the bullock owners of

type F.6, farmers of type F.8 are likely to show a bigger income thanks to their better yields and their commercial

aim: GHC 1900 to GHC 3800/year

6.5. Tractor owners, high level of diversification and fertilization (F.9)

Tractor owners are all gathered under type F.9 (figure 17). They usually all are related to the founding families’clan. In

relation with the social situation, the lineages in the farming systems of type F.9 are bigger: more family workers are in

charge of the farm (5 family workers here, that is to say the maximum in the study area).

Their farm land is very diversified; they own uplands, lowlands and valley bottoms. They also are the only ones to

benefit from fallows integrated to the rotation. In the uplands, the cropping system is often based on a rotation of 8-10

years of cropping and 3-4 years of fallow. In the lowlands, the fallow period is usually longer. The clearing of their land

is also sometimes a process of extension of the cropped area.

The chemical fertilization on maize is very high (25 uN/acre) and their cattle herd of more than 10 heads allows them to

complement it with organic manure (4-5 bullock trucs/acre). Therefore their dependence to chemical fertilizers is much

less than for other farming systems and their yields are very high and stable (1.5 t/acre).

They all crop rice in the lowlands. Their rice cropping system is characteristic of a high level of equipment and capital

and is very different from the other rice cropping systems. The land preparation is entirely moto-mecanised (ploughing

and harrowing), “weedings” are chemical, and except for the first years of cropping after clearing, the mineral

fertilization is important (about 15 uN/acre. Rice yields can reach up to 1.5 t/acre. They are the only farmers to get

such a high value added on rice (GHC 680/acre) thanks to the use of fertilizer which is usually only put on maize.

They benefit from a lot of familial workforce but a lot of farmers hire day labourers in addition to manage the farm

works on these big areas (harvesting of rice and cotton, sowings, weedings).

They also are the only farmers to own a big herd of cattle (between 10 to 50 cows) given to the Fulani herdsmen all

year round, in addition to other livestock. This enables them to be quite independent towards financial risks.

The agricultural income of farmers of type F.9 is the biggest of the study area. It ranges between GHC 3700 to GHC

5500 for the biggest farms (9 acres/family worker), that is to say twice that of type F.8 farmers and five times that of

type F.1 and F.2 farmers. In this income, dry season gardening has a sensible importance : it increases the income of

GHC 1000/year (very high value added per unit of area).

6.6. Fulani herdsmen with cereal cropping under organic fertilization (F.10)

Basically, the Fulani farming system is based on a close association between cattle rearing and cereal cropping on

uplands (mostly maize, sometimes intercropped with millet or guinea corn) (figure 18). In our study area, some Fulani

households have their own cattle herds (generally less than 10 cows), but the cattle they take care of represent the

most part of the animals (for a total of 15-40 cows) During the dry season, the shifting of the cattle pen every two

weeks ensures the fertilization of the future maize farm, while the permanent pen set for the farming season is used to

get manure that is spread on the rest of the farm (generally at least 15 donkey trucks/acre). However, with the global

decrease of the cattle in the study area, and the request for manure by cattle owners, it is very frequent that even

Fulani themselves don’t have enough manure to fertilize their own fields. In this case and if they can afford it, they can

chose to buy some fertilizers to complement the effect of the manure.

All in all, this farming system allows them to have very stable and sustainable yields for maize, generally between 800

kg to 1 t/acre, with a much lesser dependence to chemical fertilizers than all the previous types.

Their relationship with cattle owners sometimes involves remuneration through some help from the owner (he can

provide the ploughing service with his bullocks or his tractor, and/or can come and help for the weedings). But in most

cases, the remuneration is only guaranteed by the milk the Fulani get from the cattle.



24

Finally, they are very restricted by the size of their land since it is decided by the Chief upon their settling (generally not

more than 10 acres for a family). Therefore if they want to extend they have to hire extra land, on which they generally

chose to grow cash crops such as soyabeans, groundnut, or watermelon. Since they are both farmers and herdsmen,

the area cropped can only reach about 2.5 acres/farmer.

Their agricultural income ranges between GHC 2300 to GHC 3700/family worker/year. The main part of this income

is represented by the livestock and caretaking income, which, together, can represent between 35 and 65% of this

total amount.

6.7. Rice value chain

6.8. Technical aspects

5.1.4. Harvesting then threshing

The harvesting is mostly done by family labour highly supported by hired labour. It is very rare to find a family of

sufficient size to harvest without using any external labour. The drying of the plants is linked to the date of harvesting.

Because their family workforce is busy on other farms, a lot of farmers are leaving the rice in the field for long once it is

matured. As long as the water remains in the field, the rice can hardly dry even if matured. Once the field is no more

flooded, the rice quickly dries. The over drying of the crop is a factor of loss for the farmer: an increasing share of grains

is falling on the ground and will not be harvested.

It is to be noted that nobody is using a combine harvester. Even in East Gonja, well advanced in rice cropping, only one

farmer is known to own such a machine in all the district. The harvest is an important workload (around 10 mandays

for the cutting itself) and it is obvious that the use of combine harvester could free a lot of human labour. However, it

should be well considered that such an investment is very heavy and could not be the most relevant priority among

farmers’ needs because rice is not the staple and the losses from delaying the harvesting are most often limited. In

addition, the use of combine harvested make the sowing in line almost compulsory and probably also a redesigning of

rice plots.

Once cut and gathered, the harvest needs to be threshed in order to separate the ears from their straws. This

operation is almost no more done beating by hand and we never heard about anybody processing it by threshing

machine. The most widespread technique is to form a hip with the straws in order to enable a tractor to ride on it. The

weight and the movements of the tractor sort the grains out of the straws. The efficiency of this technique is lower

than with the threshing machine but the fastest one.

To employ this technique, most of the farmers need to hire the services from a tractor because they do not own it.

Thus, they can wait long for the coming of the owner once the hip is done. This situation can lead to important losses

by fire or cattle destruction because rice stays long in the field.

As for the harvesting, the state of drying of the plant has to be as low as possible for low losses. Actually, if the straws

are to dry the threshing will break them before separating the straws. In conclusion, the farmers able to harvest as

soon as the rice is matured and the field no more flooded are the one losing the least while harvesting and threshing.

Those farmers are the ones able to manage the rice in time inside their own farm thanks to fewer crops, smaller rice

plot, more numerous family workers or capability to hire labourers.

5.1.5. Paddy rice

Once the grain is separated from the crop residues, there is a need to sort it out. This is done by the winnowing. This

operation is mostly done by women, either family women working for free or external women paid mostly in cash. For

one of them, it takes around one day to winnow one bag. In case the farmer wants to get the final product quickly, he

can call for men coming to winnow. In such a case, the work is done faster because of the strength of the fellow.

However, not all the farmers are able to pay the higher fee to hire such labourers.

Harvesting, threshing and winnowing lead to rice grain ready to be bagged and sold. The farmer rarely brings himself

his harvest to the market. The most common way is for them the sell the paddy rice to local middlewomen. Some of

them only transport the bags to the market and others are also parboiling and milling it to obtain the final product.

5.1.6. Paddy rice to milled rice

The rice sold in the market is the result of the parboiling, the milling and the transportation of the paddy rice.



25

5.1.7. Parboiling

The parboiling is a kind of precooking of the grain to limit the breakage while milling. It is mostly made by

middlewomen. At the end of the process, 1 bag of paddy rice gives 1.25 bags of parboiled rice because of the increase

in volume of the grain when boiled.

5.1.8. Milling

The middlewoman brings the bag of parboiled rice to the mill. The owner of the mill hires the service to the

middlewoman but does not buy the product and sell it back once milled. The engine is commonly driving both the

maize and the rice mill but the competition is small because rice and maize are not harvested and so mainly not milled

at the same time.

On average, 1 bag of parboiled rice gives 0.4 bag of milled one. Globally, 1 bag of paddy rice gives so 0.5 bag of milled

one. On this point, the different varieties do not get the same conversion rates. Mandee is more generous in the milling

than Jasmine 85. Actually, 1 bag of Mandee gives 25 bowls once milled when Jasmine 85 gives only 20 bowls. Because

they sell in bowl, the middlewomen are told to prefer the Mandee variety. However, this statement is to be qualified

because the grain breakage is lower for Jasmine so the product is of higher quality.

5.1.9. Final consumer

Jasmine 85 is one of the few perfumed varieties suitable for Northern cropping. As a consequence, it is common to

maintain that Jasmine 85 is benefiting from a higher marketability. For all that, our study does not allow to know the

preferences of the final consumer. In addition, it is not so sure that the taste preference for perfumed rice leads

necessarily to higher demand and higher prices.

Contrary to the other commodities, milled rice is always sold in bowls. Even if the buyer wants to get large quantity

approaching the bag, the seller will measure in bowls the exact amount concerned. In fact, other grains are bought to

be then processed in mills, which do not accept small quantities, and consumed as flour. For milled rice, the product is

already the final valued one therefore middlewomen are precisely assessing the quantities.

6.9. Economic aspects

5.1.10. Prices of the products

The diagram below shows all the steps of the rice value chain described above.



26

After harvest, the farmer is able to show value added from 7 to 28 bags for yields going respectively from 5 to 20 bags

per acre. The threshing costs around 4 GHC per future bag according to the size of the hip the farmer made. Once

deducted the charges for the tractor owner to drive the machine, this fellow keeps 1.5 GHC as value added. At harvest

time (around November), the bag of paddy rice coming straight from the farmer costs 20 GHC and double in dry

season.

Then, the parboiling only needs firewood (2.5 GHC par bag of paddy rice) and the milling costs commonly 4 GHC per

bag of paddy rice. Selling the milled rice in bowl at 2 to 2.5 GHC each depending on the period, the middlewoman is

keeping more than 150 GHC as value added per bag of paddy rice she processes. The miller is only keeping 3 GHC per

bag of paddy rice he mills.

5.1.11. Sharing of the value added

The second diagram below shows the sharing of the value added between the stakeholders in case the middlewoman

processing the rice is buying it straight from the farmer. In case the middlewoman processing the paddy rice to milled

rice is not buying it straight from the farmer, she can buy it from a trader bringing the products from the communities

to the markets. In such a situation, the intermediary trader is keeping 2 to 4 GHC as value added for transportation (see

above) and its activity does not increase the final price but reduce the value added kept by the middlewoman

processing the paddy rice.



27

Obviously, the tractor owner who threshes and the miller are just keeping a few percent of the total value added all

along the chain. The value added for the farmer is linked the yield but can be roughly considered to be 10%. Finally, the

middlewoman in keeping all the rest of the value added that is to say more than 80%.

This situation could explain the fact that middlewomen are dictating the prices within the value chain even though

their work is not as tedious as farmer. A fairer sharing of the wealth created within all the chain from the farmer to the

final consumer could be reached organizing the value chain and helping the stakeholders to meet. On this point, RSSP

has for sure a rule to fill. Helping in the structuration of Farmers Based Organisation gathering rice prouducers is one of

the first steps to increase the weight of the farmers within the value chain. Thus, the organization of the rice farmers

could be the beginning of a different organization of the stakeholders and thus of the sharing of the value added.

8. RSSP : impacts and recommendations

8.1. Project goals

The RSSP aims mainly at increasing farmers’ income by increasing the rice production in four regions of the country. At

the technical level, the project consists in building upstream and downstream bunds, smaller bunds as well as drainage

systems in the lowlands selected through a participatory approach. Groups of farmers willing to be involved in the

project are formed and the developed lowland will be divided into portions for them to take care of their own portion.

Maintaining the water helps decreasing weed pressure to allow a higher yield potential.

Moreover, a microcredit organization is planned to be developed to help providing forward cash for the cropping year,

and there will also be actions to help structure the rice value chain. The final goal is to save a bigger part of the value

added to farmers. However, in this report we will essentially focus on the production aspect of the project since the

activities of structuring of the sector and of microcredit are still very undefined and have not started yet.

8.2. State-of-play

In the study area, 90 hectares have been developed between New Moatani, Bogdoo and Takora-Yili at the beginning of

the 2011 campaign. The first effective year of the project is peculiar since, due to the delays in the structuring of the

provision of credit, the developed portions were integrated into the Block Farm programme.

This framing might create a state of dependence of the farms in terms of access to inputs and services since a delay in

their provision or a bad quality could impact the yields directly. For example, the farmers had to sow the fields in

several times because the quantity of seeds brought to them was not sufficient. Then the Government tractors were

only two to plough and harrow 90 hectares and this when the calendar window was very short since the rainy season

was 2 months late.



28

8.3. Cropping system promoted

Except for the year 2011 for which the setting up was very late and imposed the broadcasting, the cropping itinerary

promoted by RSSP will involve a sowing in seed holes by stick. The ploughing is done by tractor and the weedings are

chemicals (total herbicide and selective herbicide during the cycle). The amount of fertilization is relatively high (about

15uN/acre). This is actually the cropping system S1a described previously and presented below for a reminder.

Rice cropping

system Ploughing Sowing

Sowing

density

(kg/acre)

Herbicides Fertilisation

(uN/acre)

Yield

(t/acre)

S1a Tractor seed holes 14 total

selective 15 1,2-2,1

Characteristics of the cropping system proposed by RSSP

This cropping itinerary allows to get between 1.2 and 2.1 tonnes of paddy rice per acre for the local variety Mandee.

The table below sums up the economic results corresponding to this itinerary.

Rice

cropping

system


(GHC) GVA/acre (GHC) Total md/acre

GVA/acre/md

(GHC)

S1a 700 130 570 33 17

Economic performances of the RSSP itinerary

Among all the cropping systems that we were able to formalize, the one promoted by RSSP fives the best economic

performances. However, its implementation involves a high level of capital (seeds, mineral fertilisers, herbicides) and is

actually very scarcely practiced in the area. This is also why we have not attributed it to any of the farming system

(some farmers from type F.9 practice it though).

Besides, RSSP forecasts to popularize the variety Jasmin 85. The potential yields of this short duration variety (4 months

against 5 for the local Mandee) are higher, notably because it has fewer chances to be subject to hazards, and in any

case for a shorter time. In addition, the management of water provided by the bunding will help managing weeds and

theorically to obtain better yields. Some of the project extension officers have talked about yields of 1.7t/acre to the

beneficiaries.

8.4. Effects of the project

8.4.1. Increase of the income and diversification

The cultivation of rice for a commercial goal allows to obtain a monetary income that is significant (about 570

GHC/acre on average). However it is a very demanding crop in terms of workforce needed, and it can compete with the

works on other crops (food crops such as millet and guinea corn) that are fundamental for the poorest farmers (F.1 and

F.2). The weedings have to be done at the same time as the maize harvest which is a very demanding operation.

Therefore, the logic of RSSP in entrusting 1 hectare-plots to each of the beneficiaries seems very relevant to allow a

good integration of rice cropping in the farms.

To help making rice cropping accessible to the farms that are workforce-deficient, there may be a need of thinking

about the organization of mutual help groups between beneficiaries. As planned by RSSP, it is also fundamental to offer

forward credit to help start the cropping year, especially to help those whose cash flow is normally insufficient so that

they can diversify through rice (F.1, F.2, F.3).

RSSP aims at enabling everyone to have access to rice cropping. The government intervention seems the only way to

break the historical “monopoly” of the founding families on the property of lowlands. The farmers of lowest social

capital (F.1, F.2, F.3) could really benefit from the project to have access to a lowland plot. On the contrary, some of the

richest farmers that sometimes crop more than 10 acres of rice can be affected by the expropriation. However, the



29

question of the property of the lands that will be developed was not sufficiently thought about to conclude on how to

compensate the owners.

Finally, concerning the smallest farmers, it seems efficient to group them to encourage the tractor operator to come.

This will help him make cost-effective trips to the lowland fields that are often far from the communities.

8.4.2. Competitions

Watermelon, maize and okro and the only crops other than rice that are cultivated in the lowlands, where the water

does not come too early and is not too high. The crop is either intercropped with rice and harvested before the

flooding (watermerlon and okro) or cultivated during a first cycle before setting up the rice crop during a second cycle

(case of the maize). The bunds allow maintaining the water longer on the field but it does not seem that they move the

date of flooding forward. Therefore it seems that all 3 crops are still possible to be cultivated even with bunds.

However, to most of the beneficiaries, the development of the plot attributed is imposed and they think they cannot

cultivate other crops.

If the loss of the okro is not “fundamental”, the loss of the watermelon crop might constitute a shortage in cash and

that of maize would also have strong consequences. The maize cultivated during the first cycle before rice is a short

duration maize (3 months). The harvest of this maize might not be always very good in terms of quantity, but it is

crucial in terms of provision of early food during the gap period. Indeed this maize allows complementing the

production of the backyard fields.

Therefore, since the global goal of RSSP is to increase farmers’ income and more widely to fight against rural poverty, it

would be crucial to adapt the management of the lowlands developed, and notably to allow some flexibility concerning

cropping practices to the beneficiaries.

8.4.3. Attribution of the fields to the beneficiaries

The process of attribution of the lowland plots was left to the selected communities, and thus indirectly to their

political elites. Since social and economic statuses are closely linked, the goal of the project to reach the poorest

farmers might not be achieved and even accelerate the existing socio-economic differentiation. We can even fear that

farmers that are not cropping rice (F.1, F.2, F.3, F.4) access to few developed plots and that those who already crop rice

and whose income is above the survival threshold (F.7, F.8, F.9) be the main beneficiaries. However it seems that there

would not be any other way more suitable to attribute the fields, except maybe more monitoring.

On the field, the identity of the beneficiaries, their total number, the repartition by community are completely

unknown. The blur is also very impressive concerning the modalities of attribution of the plot (exact area, location

inside the lowland, length and nature of the lease).

In the case of a limited duration-lease, the end of the tenancy implies big risks for the farmer since he will not own the

plot and his owner will probably be interested by getting back a plot developed for water management. Therefore the

length of the lease should be sufficient for the beneficiary to allow him showing a real surplus income, so that he can

invest and durably improve his economic situation. On the contrary, if the length of the lease is unlimited, this would

mean that the appropriation by the beneficiary is final to the detriment of the real owner, which could give rise to

important social tensions.

Again here, the clarification on the question of the land is crucial for the project and its long term effects.

8.4.4. Popularization and spreading of rice cultivation

Concerning this question, it is not very likely that RSSP serves as an example to promote rjce cropping by individuals in

the study area. Indeed, the high yielding potential promoted by the project leans upon a cropping itinerary that is

highly capital-intensive (ploughing and harrowing, new varieties, mineral fertilisation, herbicides) that the vast majority

of farmers can not adopt on their own. There might be a need to think of promoting some variations around the

cropping system proposed to reinforce the popularization opportunities by the project.

8.5. Rice sector

The first actor of the rice value chain is the farmer that produces paddy rice. As presented in part xx, the value added is

mostly seized by the middlewomen (almost 90% of the total amount). Thus, in conformity with the goal of RSSP to

increase farmers’income by rice production, a good leverage is indeed to improve the organization of farmers. This



30

could help them modify the battles of wills inside the rice sector and enable them to increase the part of the value

added they can keep which is currently too low (10%).

9. Conclusion

In less than a century, the agrarian system in the study area has seen many changes. Before Independence, in the

1940s, clear-and-burn farming almost entirely leant upon familial work and mutual help. Yam and cereal production

allowed to be self-sufficient and livestock breeding was an important element of anti-risk capital.

The increase in the population is the main cause of the decrease in the fallow length and area. Consequently a fertility

crisis and a livestock crisis began to develop. Currently there is also the loom of a land crisis since most of the land has

been seized by the founding families and therefore not enough land is available now for farm extensions.

During the 2nd

half of the 20th century, these elements have accentuated the existing differentiation between the

farming systems. Indeed their adaptations to these crises determine their yields and therefore their speed of capital

accumulation.

The current agrarian system is very composite, with an income range of 1 to 28. The poorest farmers keep on working

with the hoes on a few acres of cereals when the richest can crop about ten different crops, afford high levels of

fertilization, own a tractor and hire a lot of day labourers.

Since the population is still growing and the land tenure system does no evolve, the land crisis will continue, as well as

fertility and livestock problems. Therefore the agrarian system is still differentiating. The poorest farmers can not show

sufficient yields because they cannot afford any fertilizer. They cannot start an accumulation phase. Some others

cannot take advantage of their more favourable situation because they cannot extend their farmland, linked with the

lack of land and the taboo over the hiring of the land.

On the contrary, many direct descendants of the founding clan concentrate most of the capital and land of the study

area. In addition, the structure of their family allows them to benefit from an available workforce. In the case of the

chief of the community, the duty system also benefits him. These farmers are in a more « confortable » and at least

sustainable situation.

For the majority of the farmers which situation is extremely difficult, some oppportunities do exist. Watermelon for

example allows to increase the gross value added by unit of area, therefore the farm income, with a constant farm

area. Its cultivation does not involve a lot of charges and work. However, due to its very fast spreading in the farming

system and a lack of organization of the value chain, we can fear a saturation of the market and a collapse of the prices.

Rice cropping is also an interesting opportunity. First rice allows to take advantage of the lowlands which are still fertile

and available. In addition, it shows good economic performances. However, rice cultivation involves a lot of work and

expenses (workforce during harvest time). Besides it is by enabling the biggest number of farmers to crop rice that

RSSP will benefit farmers of the study area, without neglecting the aspects of organization, microcredit and monitoring.

Several ideas are also to go thoroughly into by development organizations : 1) the formalization of the land tenure

system to facilitate and secure the lease, 2) the perpetuation of subsidies on mineral fertilizers, 3) the evaluation of

positive and negative effects of the development of tractors and take appropriate measures, 4) the evaluation of the

advantage of relaunching the ploughing by bullocks to limit the dependence to tractors, and 5) a reflection on how to

relaunch livestock breeding to ensure a protection and an investment capacity to farmers.

1

Agrarian system diagnosis

- Final Report - ILLUSTRATIONS

Northern Region – Ghana

Laure Le Queré

Rémi Bonvalet

March – August 2011

Tutor : Olivier Ducourtieux

2

Figure 1 : Map and zoning of the study area

Figure 2 : Rainfalls and temperatures in the study area

3

Figure 3 : Transects in the study area

Figure 4 : Key of the transects

4

Figure 5 : Organisation of the internal zoning

Picture 1 : Tree-covered fields on uplands

5

Picture 2 : few years old fallow on upland

Picture 3 : Cropped portion on lowland

6

Picture 4 : Open valley bottom with

temporary stream

Picture 5 : Walled gardens and pastures in open valley bottom

Picture 6 : Mamprugu village surrounded by backyard maize fields

7

Picture 7 : Fulani settlement surrounded by backyard fields (dry season)

Picture 8 : Night pen for Fulani’s cattle used in rainy season

8

Figure 6 : Organisation of the standard

farming system at the beginning of the

XXth century

9

Figure 7 : Evolution of the production systems from the 1950’s to today rough percentage of farms belonging to the type

50%

20%

5%

20%

5%

1950 1970 1990 1980 2000 2010 1960

Funding famililes

Medium families

Poor families

BP owned

BP hired

Hoe

BP owned

Rice +

Groundnut

BP owned

BP hired + Hoe

BP owned

Fallow +++

Cattle +++

Rice ++

BP owned

Fallow +

Cattle +

Rice +

BP hired

Fallow +/-

Cattle +/-

BP hired + hoe

Fallow -

Cattle -

Hoe

Fallow - -

Cattle - -

Tractor owned

Fallow ++

Cattle ++

Rice ++(+)

Fertilizers ++

No land hired

BP own. + Tract. hired

Fallow +/-

Cattle +/-

Rice +/-

Fertilizers +

Total herbicide

Land hired

BP hired (+Hoe)

Fallow -

Cattle -

No land hired

Hoe

Fallow - -

Catte - -

No land hired

Tractor owned

Fallow 5-6 year

Cattle 10-50 females

Rice 3-5 ha

Maize 60 uN/ha

Tractor hired

Fallow 2-3 y. stimes

Cattle 0-10 females

Rice 1,5 ha

Maize 60 uN/ha

Hired land 10-40%

BP owned (+T hired)

Fallow 2-3 y. stimes

Cattle 0-5 females

Rice 1,5 ha

Maize 40-60 uN/ha

+ organic matters

Hired land 0-10%

Mixed ploughing

Continuous cropping

Hoe+BP+Tractor

Maize 60 uN/ha

Hired land 0-10%

BP+Tractor

Rice 1 ha

Maize 40 uN/ha

Hired land 0-20%

Hoe+BP

Maize 20 uN/ha

Hoe

Continuous cropping

Maize 0-20 uN/ha

GCC fertilizers

State farm

at Kparigu wide spreading of BP

beginning of

population

explosion

soyabeans watermelon

Introduction

of BP

A.3

A.2

A.1

B.3

B.2

B.1

C.5

C.4

BP hired

C.3

C.2

Hoe

C.1

D.5

D.4

D.3

D.2

D.1

E.4

E.3

E.2

E.1

F.8

F.9

F.4

F.6

F.7

F.5

F.3

F.2

F.1

2

- D

IVE

RS

IFIC

AT

ION

+

3

groundn.

cow pea, bambara b.

rice

soyabeans

gardening

1

4

5

6

7 watermelon

cotton

wide spreading of tractor

%

10

Figure 8 : Underlying trends of the agrarian history in the second half

of the XXth century in the study area

11

FS F.1 : SMALL CEREAL FARM, HOE PLOUGHING

Land

Area : 1 to 3 acres (UL)Tenure : 100% owned

Workforce1 family worker

EquipmentPloughing hoe

Weeding hoe

Machette

NVA/worker: GHC 260 to 780

AI/family worker: GHC 250 to 760

CROPS

Work calendar

Uplands (owned) UL

3 acres

GP/acre = GHC 276

Charges/acre = GHC 16

GVA/acre = GHC 260

LIVESTOCK

Livestock income = 0

GVA/acre = GHC 260

SC

Maize

+ SC

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

150 family

md

Family md

available

md

Figure 9 : Functioning and performances of the farming system F.1

12

FS F.2 : SMALL FARM – CEREAL//GROUNDNUT, HOE

PLOUGHING

Land

Area: 2,5 to 5 acres (UL)Tenure: 100% owned

Workforce2 family workers + mutual help (+ day labourers

- harvesting of groundnut 6%)

EquipmentPloughing hoes

Weeding hoes

Machettes



GB/acre = GHC 370


GVA/acre = GHC 335

CROPS

Work calendar

LIVESTOCK

2 hens (GVA/hen = GHC 28)

1 guinea fowl (GVA/guinea fowl = GHC 44)

Livestock income = GHC 100

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

250 md family +

mutual help

+ 15 md day

labourers

Uplands (owned) UL

5 acres

GVA/acre = GHC 340

Maize

+ SC

Groundnut

+ SC

SC

mdFamily md

available

Figure 10: Functioning and performances of the farming system F.2

13

FS F.3 : SMALL FARM – MAIZE, GROUNDNUT, COTTON –

MIXED PLOUGHING (H+B)

Land

Area: 3 to 6 acres (UL)Tenure : 100% owned

Workforce2 family workers + mutual help + day

labourers for the harvesting of cotton (20%)


Weeding hoes

Machettes

Hiring of bullocks (groundnut)



GP/acre = GHC 390


GVA/acre = GHC 335

CROPS

Work calendar

LIVESTOCK

2 hens, 2 guinea fowls

Livestock income= GHC 140

Uplands (owned) UL

6 acres

GVA/acre = GHC 330

Maize

+ SCGroundnut

+ SC

Cotton

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

290 md

family +

mutual help

80 md day

labourers

md

Family md

available


14

FS F.4 : MEDIUM FARM – MIXED PLOUGHING (H+B+T) –

MEDIUM DIVERSIFICATION INCL. RICE

Land

Area: 7 to 14 acres (UL + LL)Tenure : 80% owned, 20% hired

Workforce3 family workers + mutual help + day labourers (25%)


Weeding hoes

Machettes

Hiring of bullocks and tractor

NVA/worker : GHC 600 to 1130


GP/acre = GHC 465


GVA/acre = GHC 385 €

CROPS

Work calendar

LIVESTOCK


2 goats (GVA/goat = GHC 20)


Uplands UL

(owned)

Lowlands LL

(hired)

Uplands UL

(hired)

11 acres 1 acre 2 acres

GVA/acre =

GHC 370

GVA/acre =

GHC 210

GVA/acre =

GHC 915

Wmelon +

SC

Rice (seed

holes)

Maize

+ SCGnut

+ SC

Cotton

Soya

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

580 md

family +

mutual help

200 md day

labourers

md

Family md

available


15

FS F.5 : MEDIUM FARM – MIXED LABOUR (B+T) – MEDIUM

DIVERSIFICATION (UL ONLY)

Land

Area: 5 to 8 acres (UL)Tenure : 80% owned, 20% hired



Weeding hoes

Machettes

Hiring of bullocks and tractor



GP/acre = GHC 550


GVA/acre = GHC 450

CROPS

Work calendar

LIVESTOCK

2 poules, 2 pintades

2 chèvres

Revenu élevage = 90 €

Uplands UL

(owned)

Uplands UL

(hired)

6 acres 2 acres

GVA/acre =

GHC 915

GVA/acre =

GHC 390

Maize

+ SC

Gnut

+ SC

Cotton

Soya

Wmelon +

SC

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

315 md

family +

mutual help

135 md day

labourers

md

Family md

available


16

FS F.6: BULLOCK OWNERS – MEDIUM TO BIG FARMS –

HIGH DIVERSIFICATION INCL. RICE

Land

Area: 12 to 26 acres (UL + LL)Tenure: 90% owned, 10% hired



Weeding hoes

Machettes

Sprayer

Set of bullocks + plough + bullock

cart

Hiring of tractor



GP/acre = GHC 575


GVA/acre = GHC 510

CROPS

Work calendar

LIVESTOCK


3 goats

3 sheep (GVA/sheep = GHC 44)

2 bullocks (GVA/bullock = GHC 222)


Uplands UL

(owned)

Lowlands LL

(owned)

Uplands UL

(hired)

20 acres 2 acres 4 acres

GVA/acre =

GHC 545

GVA/acre =

GHC 370

GVA/acre =

GHC 980

Maize

+ SC

Gnut

+ SC

Cotton

SoyaBeans

SC

Wmelon/

Maize

Rice (seed

holes)

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

870 md

family +

mutual help

515 md day

labourers

md

Family md

available


17

FS F.7: MEDIUM TO BIG FARM – TRACTOR PLOUGHING – HIGH

DIVERSIFICATION INCL. RICE

Land




Weeding hoes

Machettes

Sprayers

Tractor hiring for the whole farm



GP/acre = GHC 550


GVA/acre = GHC 455

CROPS

Work calendar

LIVESTOCK


3 goats, 4 sheep


Uplands UL

(owned

Lowlands LL

(hired)

Uplands UL

(hired)


GVA/acre =

GHC 470

GVA/acre =

GHC 250

GVA/acre =

GHC 930

Maize

+ SCGnut

+ SC

Cotton

SoyaBeans

SC

Wmelon/

MaizeRice

(broadcast)

0

50

100

150

200

250

455 md day

labourers

890 md

family (+

mutual help)

md

Family md

available


18

FS F.8: BIG FARM – TRACTOR PLOUGHING –

HIGH DIVERSIFICATION INCL. BIG AREA CROPPED TO RICE

Land




Weeding hoes

Machettes

Sprayers

Tractor hiring for the whole farm



GP/acre = GHC 555


GVA/acre = GHC 450

CROPS

Calendrier de travail

LIVESTOCK


4 goats, 5 sheep

5 cows (at the Fulani’s)

(GVA/cow = GHC 256,

GM/cow = GHC 142)


Uplands UL

(owned)

Lowlands LL

(owned)

Uplands UL

(hired)


GVA/acre =

GHC 610

VAB/ha =

GHC 345

VAB/ha =

GHC 750

Sole

maizeGnut

+ SC

CottonSoya

Beans

SC

Wmelon/

Maize

Rice

(Broadcast)

md

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

775 md day

labourers

890 md

family

(+mutual

help)

Family md

available


19

FS F.9 : BIG FARM – FOUNDING FAMILIES – TRACTOR AND

CATTLE OWNERS – HIGH DIVERSIFICATION INCL. RICE

Land

Area: 30 to 45 acres (UL + LL [+ VB])Tenure : 100% owned

Workforce5 family workers + mutual help + day labourers


Weeding hoes

Machettes

Sprayers

Tractor 75 CV + truck + harrow


RA/actif familial: GHC 3720 to 5500

GP/acre = GHC 1590


GVA/acre = GHC 1300

CROPS

Work calendar

LIVESTOCK3 hens, 4 guinea fowls

6 goats, 6 sheep

15 cows (at the Fulani’s)


Uplands UP

(owned)

Lowlands LL

(owned

35 acres 8 acres 1 acre

Valley bottoms VB

(owned)

GVA/acre =

GHC 530

GVA/acre =

GHC 1040

GVA/acre =

GHC 680

Sole

maize

Gnut

+ SC

Cotton

Soya

SC

Wmelon/

Maize

Beans Yam

Rice

(Broadcast)

Dry season

gardening

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450md

825 md day

labourers

1140 md

family (+

mutual help)

Family md

available


20

FS F.10 : FULANI HERDSMEN WITH CEREAL CROPPING UNDER

ORGANIC FERTILISATION

Land

Area: 2 to 5 acres (UL)Tenure : 100% owned

Workforce2 family workers + help from cattle owners


Weeding hoes

Machettes


AI/family worker: GHC 2260 to 3680GB/acre = GHC 480

CI/ha = GHC 10

GVA/acre = GHC 470

CROPS

CATTLE BREEDING SYSTEM

LIVESTOCK

3 hens

3 guinea fowls

5 cows owned


10 cows (caretaking)

Caretaking income =

GHC 114/cow x 10 cows= GHC 1140

2

10 + 5

MILK

115 L/cow/year x

GHC 1/L

= GHC

115/cow/year

2 2

2

2,5 years old: GHC 300/head

renewal

14 years old:

GHC 800/head

2

VAB Maïs+CS : GHC 470/acre

Livestock + Caretaking income = 35 to 65 %

of the total income

Maize

+ SC

Uplands UL

(owned

5 acres


22

-100

100

300

500

700

900

1100

1300

0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 1 1,2 1,4 1,6

VA

N/a

cti

f (€

)

Surface/actif familial (ha)

SP

F.1SP

F.2SP

F.3SP

F.4SP

F.5SP

F.6SP

F.7SP

F.8SP

F.9

2200

1800

1400

1000

600

200

Net value added

/worker (GHC)

1 2 3 acres/worker

Figure 19 : Value added per worker as a function of cropped area per worker,

for SP F.1 to SP F.9 2600

23

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 4

Re

ve

nu

ag

ric

ole

/ac

tif

fam

ilia

l (€

)

Surface/actif familial (ha)

SP F.1

SP F.2

SP F.3

SP F.4

SP F.5

SP F.6

SP F.7

SP F.8

SP F.9

Figure 20 : Agricultural income per family worker as a function of the cropped area per family worker,

for SP F.1 to SP F.9

Seuil de survie 350 €

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

1 acres/f.

worker 2 4 3 5 6 7 8 9 10

Income/f. worker

(GHC)

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