*3.6. Building Farmers' Resilience to Maize Production Failures*

Farmers' abilities to respond to changes and take appropriate actions define their resilience and adaptive capacity to climatic and non-climatic changes. Therefore, understanding farmers' indigenous practices and knowledge actions are important for timely interventions that enhance their livelihoods and food security in developing countries [20]. The present study explored ways to build the resilience of maize farmers in the study communities. According to key informants, the resilience of smallholder farmers is crucial to ensuring sustainable food production. Multiple recommendations were made by the farmers (Table 5). Many of the farmers (79% in Ejura, 67% in Anyinasu and 56% in Kasei) reported that financial constraints affect their production, and suggested making loans available and easing the modalities for acquiring loans from financial institutions in the municipality is necessary to

reduce the financial burden on farmers. It was reiterated that the interest rates offered by financial institutions at the time of the fieldwork were very high. According to the farmers, some financial institutions were charging between 25% and 28% interest on loans. Besides the high interest rate, the conditions for acquiring loans were reported to be very cumbersome, which discouraged the farmers from applying for loans. The results here are consistent with previous findings by Klutse, et al. [21], who argued that the difficulty farmers face in accessing loans from a financial institution to pay for labor and purchase farm inputs have adverse impacts on food crop production in Ejura-Sekyedumase and Wenchi Municipalities. The present study has further revealed that the farmers were also reluctant to acquire loans from financial institutions largely because of the fear of defaulting, which could put them in jail. The interviews revealed that the farmers were also not interested in subscribing to farm insurance policies. At Ejura, one farmer reported that three years ago, farmers in the community tried doing business with an insurance company, but were exploited by the company leading, to the loss of their investments.

**Table 4.** Specific agronomic changes in response to maize production failure (in multiple responses).


The use of agrochemicals for agricultural production in the district has become a regular practice among farmers in the municipality in response to poor soil nutrient status, disease infestation, and the fall armyworm attack. As part of the Government of Ghana's initiatives aimed at promoting agricultural production, price subsidies on mineral fertilizers have been rolled out nationwide [11,17]. The farmers acknowledged that the subsidy has helped to reduce the price of fertilizers. Nevertheless, it was reported that high demands, particularly during the peak growing season, often led to hoarding and price increases for fertilizers. The farmers also proposed that the subsidy program be extended to include essential products, such as pesticides and weedicides, as their availability will help farmers to improve maize production. Nabavi-Pelesaraei, et al. [22] reported that the use of inputs such as biocides and farmyard manure differentiated between efficient and inefficient

watermelon farmers in Iran. The authors found that there is a misconception that a high use of, for example, fertilizers can lead to inefficient production. Moreover, the low cost and inappropriate use of fertilizers can have adverse effects on crop performance and the environment [22,23]. We suggest that subsidies on prices of agro-chemicals in Ghana be accompanied by regular agronomic information on best agricultural practices to build the resilience of smallholder farmers and avert environmental externalities caused by mal-agronomic practices.


**Table 5.** Measures to build the capacity of maize farmers against the drivers of crop production failure (multiple responses).

The interviews showed that irrigation facilities were non-existent in the municipality, and according to the farmers, developing such facilities will help reduce their dependency on rainfall for food production. They suggested that the government should consider extending the One Village One Dam (1V1D) program to their municipality. The 1V1D is a Government of Ghana flagship program initiated in 2017 to aid rainwater harvesting for domestic use and farming, especially during the harmattan season. The program is intended to increase the access to a reliable source of water for livestock watering, domestic activities, and dry season farming, all of which is intended to alleviate poverty and address the inequalities in rural and deprived communities [24]. According to the farmers, implementing the program in the Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipality will promote irrigation and reduce the risk of maize production failures.

In all the communities, the farmers expressed concern about how they are being cheated by the middlemen who buy maize grains. There was a general feeling that the unscrupulous practices of the middlemen seriously affect the incomes of farmers. It was reported that the middlemen come to the community with their prices, and these are often too low. For instance, at the peak of maize grain shortage in early 2021, a bag of maize was sold for about GHC 650.00 (Based on OANDO exchange rate as of January 14: USD 1 is GHC 6.1) in Accra and Kumasi, yet the middlemen bought from the farmers for between GHC 350.00 and 400.00. Additionally, it was revealed that the bags used by the buyers are often too large, compared to the approved 100 kg bag for maize grains. The farmers reported that middlemen repack the grains in standard bags before reselling them to consumers at the urban markets, which means extra grains are gained per bag. This is a modus operandi of the middlemen to make more profits at the expense of the farmers. The farmers suggested that the government should set out price regulations for maize grains and enforce the standardization of maize grains measurement across the country.

Further probing revealed that some of the middlemen prefer going into contract maize production with farmers, particularly those who are financially constrained. Often, the middlemen, i.e., the buyers support the farmers financially and in kind, such as by supplying agro-chemicals that may be needed throughout the cultivation season. In return, the farmers are bonded to sell the maize produced at the end of the season to their prospective buyers. Despite the poor pricing offered by the buyers, contract farming seems to be generally working well so far, as the farmers were able to produce enough to meet the terms of the contractual agreement. However, issues arise when maize output is insufficient to meet the demands of buyers. It was reported that the 2020 minor season maize production failure rendered several farmers indebted to middlemen. According to a male farmer in Kasei:

At the beginning of the 2020 minor growing season, a buyer came to me from Accra . . . We agreed she was going to support me financially and in kind to grow maize. Given the size of my farm, I was confident that I could supply her with at least 100 bags of maize at the end of the season. Unfortunately, nothing worked that season, the rain was a huge disappointment. On top of that, the fall armyworms devoured the maize plant . . . I could not even harvest 30 bags of maize to make the buyer somehow happy . . . To sum up, I am still indebted to her (the buyer).

The farmers also expressed concerns over the inability of existing pesticides on the market to fully control the fall armyworms, and suggested that the Ministry of Food and Agriculture should collaborate with research institutions in the country to explore using local materials, such as ashes, and solutions made of neem (*Azadirachta indica*, A Juss) bark or leaf to manufacture pesticides. According to the farmers, trial-and-error methods, such as using ashes, neem leaf or bark extract, or a combination of them all, seemed to reduce the rate at which the insect breeds. Guodaar, et al. [25] and Shaiba, et al. [26] found that farmers in northern Ghana used neem leaf extract in an attempt to control the spread of crop pests, particularly the fall armyworm, yet these indigenous practices have not been as effective as expected. The farmers in Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipality also face challenges, such as those related to determining the required dosage and application timing to attain optimum results. The farmers believe that integrating scientific knowledge with their indigenous practices could improve the efficiency of the locally used materials in order to effectively control the pest. Derbile, et al. [27] pointed out that, despite the importance of local knowledge in climate change adaptation in Africa, it has potential limitations. Guodaar, Bardsley and Suh [25] reported that the risks and impacts posed by climate change are complex, and therefore, there is an urgent need for climate change adaptation to support the integration of farmers' indigenous knowledge and modern scientific knowledge, and thus build the farmers' resilience.

The farmers also suggested that there is a need for the government, through the MoFA, to promote and support mechanized maize farming so as to reduce the dependency on manual labor, and thus ensure timely cultivation. Finally, a few of the farmers (8%, 6% and 6% in Ejura, Kasei and Anyinasu, respectively) proposed that agro-chemical retailers in their respective communities could supply the farmers with agro-chemicals on credit, which they could repay at the end of the growing season.
