CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Producing more food does not by itself raise farm incomes. Farmers must also be able to sell their produce at reasonable prices, and this depends on information about markets, the cost of reaching buyers, and the ability to meet buyers' requirements. In economic terms, these obstacles are transaction costs. Key et al. (2000) show that such costs can keep farm households out of the market or limit how much they sell, and that they explain why some households participate in markets while others with similar resources do not. Mignouna et al. (2015) studied 1,400 households in the yam-growing areas of Nigeria and Ghana and found that non-price constraints played a significant role in market participation decisions.

Oti Region is often called the yam basket of Ghana. A feature by the Ghana News Agency reports that, according to the Regional Director of Agriculture, provisional figures for 2024 show that the region produced 873,215 metric tonnes of yam, of which Nkwanta North District contributed 223,844 metric tonnes, second only to Nkwanta South (Mamore, 2026). The Kpassa, Nkwanta, Dambai and Banda markets are the main trading centres, but poor feeder roads make it costly and unreliable to move yam to market, especially in the rainy season (Mamore, 2026). The Regional Director of Agriculture has also pointed out that a tuber of yam costing GH₵10 at the farm gate was sold for GH₵24 in the cities when the region's farmers were addressed in 2022 (Graphic Online, 2022), which shows how much of the final price is absorbed between the farm and the consumer. Damanko, in Nkwanta North District, is also the site of a government land acquisition of over 5,000 acres for an irrigation-based farming project that is expected to cover crops including maize, yams, cassava and oil palm (Graphic Online, n.d.).

Agricultural extension can help farmers to overcome some of these obstacles. Beyond teaching production methods, extension agents can give farmers market information, advise on grading, storage and post-harvest handling, help them to form and run farmer-based organisations (FBOs), and link them to buyers and aggregators. Anderson and Feder (2004) describe extension as a public investment whose performance varies widely between systems, and Davis (2008) reviews the many models that have been tried in sub-Saharan Africa. Ghana has improved its ratio of extension agents to farmers from 1:1,906 in 2016 to 1:709 in 2020, but access to extension remains limited (Ninson & Ninson, 2026).

Evidence from Ghana links extension to market outcomes. Morton and Martey (2021) studied maize farmers in the Mion and West Gonja districts and found that access to market information and extension services increased both the likelihood and the level of maize market participation, and they recommended strengthening government extension systems as a tool for the commercialisation of smallholder agriculture. Adams et al. (2020) found in Northern Ghana that access to extension services, access to finance and distance to the nearest input market significantly influenced farmers' access to input markets. Larbi (2022) reported that access to extension services, among other factors, influenced the decision of smallholder maize farmers to participate in trading on the Ghana Commodity Exchange. Mzyece et al. (2023) found that smallholder maize farmers in Northern Ghana sold larger quantities when they sold to aggregators than when they sold directly to consumers, which suggests that linkages with aggregators can improve market participation.

Damanko and Sibi are farming communities in Nkwanta North District, where maize and yam are major crops. The communities therefore offer a useful setting in which to examine what extension services contribute to farmers' access to markets.

1.2 Problem Statement

Farmers in Nkwanta North produce large quantities of yam (Mamore, 2026), but the gains from production depend on how well they can reach markets. Poor feeder roads, high transport costs and a wide gap between farm-gate and city prices reduce what farmers earn (Graphic Online, 2022; Mamore, 2026). Studies elsewhere in Ghana suggest that extension services and market information improve market participation (Adams et al., 2020; Morton & Martey, 2021), but extension access remains limited (Ninson & Ninson, 2026).

Little published evidence was found on the extension services that reach maize and yam farmers in Damanko and Sibi, on whether these services include market-related support such as market information, post-harvest advice and buyer linkages, and on whether farmers who receive such support have better access to markets. Most Ghanaian studies on market participation have been done for maize in the northern savannah regions (Morton & Martey, 2021; Mzyece et al., 2023), and studies of yam markets have covered the yam belt as a whole (Mignouna et al., 2015) rather than individual communities in Oti Region. This study was designed to examine the role of agricultural extension services in improving farmers' access to markets in Damanko and Sibi communities.

1.3 Purpose and Objectives of the Study

The purpose of the study is to examine the role of agricultural extension services in improving farmers' access to agricultural markets among maize and yam farmers in Damanko and Sibi communities in the Nkwanta North District, Oti Region. The specific objectives are to:

(i) describe the socio-economic characteristics of maize and yam farmers in the two communities;

(ii) identify the extension services, especially market-related services, that the farmers receive;

(iii) assess the farmers' level of access to markets, in terms of market information, choice of buyers and outlets, and the share of output sold;

(iv) determine the relationship between extension services and farmers' access to markets; and

(v) identify the constraints to accessing markets and to benefiting from extension services.

1.4 Research Questions

The study seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What are the socio-economic characteristics of maize and yam farmers in Damanko and Sibi?

2. What extension services, especially market-related services, do the farmers receive?

3. What is the farmers' level of access to markets?

4. What is the relationship between extension services and farmers' access to markets?

5. What constraints limit farmers' access to markets and their use of extension services?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses will be tested at the 5% level of significance:

H0₁: There is no significant relationship between access to market-related extension services and farmers' level of market access.

H1₁: There is a significant relationship between access to market-related extension services and farmers' level of market access.

H0₂: There is no significant difference in the share of output sold between farmers who receive extension services and those who do not.

H1₂: There is a significant difference in the share of output sold between farmers who receive extension services and those who do not.

H0₃: The socio-economic characteristics of farmers (age, sex, education, farm size, distance to market and membership of an FBO) have no significant influence on their level of market access.

H1₃: The socio-economic characteristics of farmers (age, sex, education, farm size, distance to market and membership of an FBO) have a significant influence on their level of market access.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The findings will help maize and yam farmers in the two communities to understand which extension services can help them to reach better markets. They will help the Nkwanta North District Department of Agriculture and the Oti Regional Directorate of Agriculture to decide whether extension should give more attention to market information, post-harvest handling and buyer linkages, and how to use FBOs for this purpose.

The Nkwanta North District Assembly, MoFA and development partners will obtain local evidence for planning rural infrastructure and market-linkage programmes. The study will also add to the literature on extension and market participation in Ghana and will be useful to students and researchers.

1.7 Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The study is limited to maize and yam farmers in Damanko and Sibi communities in Nkwanta North District, Oti Region. It covers extension services received (with emphasis on market-related services), farmers' access to markets, and the constraints they face. It does not cover farmers of other crops, traders and processors, or other districts. The data relate to the most recent major and minor cropping seasons.

1.8 Limitations of the Study

The study was limited by time and finance, and by poor feeder roads that make some farms and communities hard to reach, especially in the rainy season. Farmers rarely keep records of quantities produced, sold and the prices received, so the data depend on recall and may not be exact. Farmers who receive extension may also be those who are already better connected to markets, so the study can show association but cannot on its own prove that extension improves market access. The findings from two communities should be generalised with care. The researcher tried to reduce these limitations by using a structured questionnaire, by asking about specific seasons and transactions, and by using interpreters where necessary.

1.9 Definition of Terms

Agricultural extension services: Activities through which extension agents and other sources give farmers information, advice and training, including market-related support such as market information, post-harvest advice and linkages to buyers.

Market access: A farmer's ability to obtain market information, reach buyers and outlets, and sell produce at reasonable prices and cost.

Market participation: A farmer's decision to sell part of the harvest, and the share of output that is sold.

Farmer-based organisation (FBO): A group of farmers formed to work together on production, marketing or access to services.

Aggregator: A trader or agent who buys produce from many farmers and sells it in bulk.

1.10 Organisation of the Study

The thesis has five chapters. Chapter One introduces the study. Chapter Two reviews the relevant theoretical and empirical literature and presents the conceptual framework. Chapter Three describes the study area and the research methodology. Chapter Four presents and discusses the results. Chapter Five summarises the findings, draws conclusions and makes recommendations.

REFERENCES

Adams, A., Osei-Amponsah, C., & Jumpah, E. T. (2020). Analysing the determinants, constraints and opportunities of smallholder farmers' access to input markets: Evidence from northern Ghana. Journal of Agribusiness and Rural Development, 2(56), 133–143.

Anderson, J. R., & Feder, G. (2004). Agricultural extension: Good intentions and hard realities. The World Bank Research Observer, 19(1), 41–60.

Davis, K. E. (2008). Extension in sub-Saharan Africa: Overview and assessment of past and current models, and future prospects. Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education, 15(3), 15–28.

Graphic Online. (2022). Farmers in Oti Region urged to invest in rice farming. https://graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-farmers-in-oti-region-urged-to-invest-in-rice-farming.html

Graphic Online. (n.d.). New era of agric prosperity in Nkwanta North [Editorial]. https://www.graphic.com.gh/daily-graphic-editorials/ghana-news-new-era-of-agric-prosperity-in-nkwanta-north.html

Key, N., Sadoulet, E., & de Janvry, A. (2000). Transactions costs and agricultural household supply response. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 82(2), 245–259.

Larbi, W. (2022). Smallholder maize farmers market participation on a commodity exchange: The case of Ghana Commodity Exchange. Russian Journal of Agricultural and Socio-Economic Sciences, 124(4), 84–93.

Mamore, K. (2026, June 9). More than a crop: Why yam remains Oti Region's economic lifeline. Ghana News Agency. https://gna.org.gh/2026/06/more-than-a-crop-why-yam-remains-oti-regions-economic-lifeline/

Mignouna, D. B., Abdoulaye, T., Alene, A., Akinola, A. A., & Manyong, V. M. (2015). Drivers of market participation decisions among small-scale farmers in yam growing areas of Nigeria and Ghana [Conference paper]. International Association of Agricultural Economists Conference, Milan, Italy. https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.230219

Morton, G., & Martey, E. (2021). Market information and maize commercialization in the Savannah and Northern regions of Ghana. Scientific African, 13, Article e00938.

Mzyece, A., Shanoyan, A., Amanor-Boadu, V., Zereyesus, Y. A., Ross, K., & Ng'ombe, J. N. (2023). How does who-you-sell-to affect your extent of market participation? Evidence from smallholder maize farmers in Northern Ghana. Cogent Economics & Finance, 11(1), Article 2184062. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2023.2184062

Ninson, J., & Ninson, D. (2026). Are agricultural extension services accessible to Ghanaian farmers? Probabilities and expectations from corner solution responses. Applied Studies in Agribusiness and Commerce, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.19041/APSTRACT/2026/1/10