ABSTRACT

The study examined the effects of climate change adaptation strategies on the production efficiency of smallholder rice farmers in the Hohoe Municipal in the Volta Region of Ghana. Using cross sectional data from rain-fed rice field, this study presents an empirical analysis of effects of climate adaptation strategies on production efficiency of rice farmers. The multinomial logit and stochastic frontier analysis were the analytical methods used in the study. A multistage sampling technique was employed to collect data for the 2017 cropping season from 131 respondents. Results from the Friedman two-way analysis revealed that, among the climate adaptation strategies adopted, adjusting plant date is the most effective way of reducing the effect of changes in climate. Experience, gender, household head, awareness of changes in climate, having different plot locations, and educational level were factors that significantly influence the adoption of climate adaptation strategies. The stochastic frontier analysis showed farmers were producing at an increasing return to scale with an estimated mean technical efficiency of 66%. This implies that extra 34% of the rice output can be produced by rice farmers in the study area without any additional farm input. The results also showed high variation in the inefficiencies among farmers ranging from 0.08 to

0.92. The climate adaptation strategies used by the farmers namely changing plot location, using improved variety, crop diversification income diversification significantly reduced inefficiency among farmers. Education and experience were the farm specific variables that significantly reduced technical inefficiencies among the farmers. The results showed that although farmers were adopting climate adaptation strategies which reduced their inefficiencies, they were still not technically efficient in their production. The study therefore recommends to extension agents to intensify their trainings for farmers on efficient use of inputs. Farmers should also be trained on various ways of efficiently combining climate adaptation strategies, example sensitizing farmers to always use certified improved rice seeds for planting, rather than using seeds from their previous harvest. An intensive use of already proven climate adaptation strategies and efficient use of input will help farmers reduce their technical inefficiency by 34% in the study area and increase their productivity.