Why were you interested in farmer innovations, and what exactly have you been looking at?
My
PhD research was on the identification, determinants and welfare
impacts of farmer innovation in rural Ghana. Research institutions have
developed numerous technologies that are being disseminated to farmers
for adoption. However, many smallholders do not adopt these technologies
due to, inter alia, lack of accessibility, high costs, and
inappropriateness of the technologies for their local conditions. Some
farmers are very creative and have developed their own locally-adapted
innovations to address the challenges they face. However, if you look at
the agricultural innovation literature, most of the studies focus on
the externally-driven innovations developed by researchers, while those
developed by farmers are often neglected or under-valued. So my
research, in contrast to existing studies, looks at famer innovations. I
examined if farmer innovations can also play a role in the livelihoods
of rural farm households, and how to build the capacity of farmers to
generate more innovations.
Where in Ghana did you do your research and how long did you stay there?
I conducted my field research in the Upper East region of Ghana from August 2012 to May 2013.
The
field research was carried out in the Upper East region – partly
because it is one of the selected areas for the implementation of the
Core Research Program of WASCAL. Moreover, Upper East is a rural region
with high population density, low food security, limited infrastructural
services and increasing challenges such as climate change and soil
infertility, and such a challenging environment is where one expects to
find many local innovations.
The first part of my research
involves identification of promising innovations developed by farmers.
To identify the innovations, I assisted my tutor, Dr. Tobias Wünscher
who was implementing an innovation contest throughout the region between
August and November 2012. In the contest, farmers competed for prizes
by presenting their independently developed innovations. The top three
innovators were awarded prizes during the National Farmers Day
celebration. I also collected survey data from 409 farm households in
three districts (Kassena Nankana East, Kassena Nankana West and Bongo)
in the region. This data was used in analysing the drivers and impacts
of farmer innovations.
How are farmer innovations related to climate change?
Most
of the identified farmer innovations are yield-related, but these
innovations are locally adapted and help to cushion the effects of
climate change. Some farmer innovations also emerge in response to
environmental shocks. One of the main findings of my study is that
farmers who develop innovations are more resilient to climate shocks
than non-innovators.
What makes farmers innovate and how do farmer innovations contribute (or not) to household welfare?
Farmers
innovate out of curiosity or coincidence or the need to increase
production and solve problems. I also found that a Farmer Field Fora
(FFF) program, which is being implemented by the Ghana’s Ministry of
Food and Agriculture, helps to build the capacity of farmers to
innovate. The FFF is a platform for innovation and mutual learning among
agricultural stakeholders, particularly farmers, extension agents and
researchers. I analyzed the effect of farmer innovations on a number of
household welfare indicators, and I found that farmer innovations play
an essential role in the livelihoods of farm households. For instance, I
found that farmer innovations significantly improve the income and
consumption expenditure of the innovators. The innovations also
contribute significantly to the reduction of food insecurity among the
innovative households by increasing food consumption expenditure, and by
reducing the length of the hungry season.
What were your most exciting findings?
Among
the most interesting findings of my research is that farmers do not
only adopt but also generate innovations. Farmer innovations may emerge
by coincidence, but it can also be stimulated through capacity building
programs such as the FFF. Also, farmer innovations can complement the
innovations developed by public and private research institutions in
addressing the challenges farmers face and in reducing rural poverty.
Finally, the opportunity to win prizes through a contest can serve as an
incentive for farmers to reveal their innovations instead of keeping
them in secrecy.
How and when did you start your doctoral studies at the Center of Development Research (ZEF) in the WASCAL Research Program?
I
started searching for PhD opportunities soon after completing my Master
studies at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. I applied to a
vacancy announcement by Dr. Tobias Wünscher, who was searching for a PhD
student to work on local innovations within the WASCAL program at ZEF. I
was in Bonn to participate in the “Tropentag” 2011 conference, and I
visited ZEF after the conference, where I met Dr. Wünscher and was
invited for an impromptu interview. I later had a phone interview with
Prof. Joachim von Braun and was then offered the position, which I
gladly accepted.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for funding my PhD studies at ZEF through the WASCAL program. I am also grateful to my supervisor, Prof. Joachim von Braun for guiding me in my research and to my tutor, Dr. Tobias Wünscher for his help in bringing my thesis to fruition.
Background
Justice conducted his research in the WASCAL work
package 3.3 on Farmer’s Perceptions, led by Dr. Tobias Wünscher. He
successfully defended his thesis on May 5, 2015. He has since been
working as a senior researcher at ZEF within WASCAL. He succeeded Dr.
Marc Müller, who started working with the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) in Rome.
Related publications:
Tambo,
Justice A. and Tobias Wünscher 2014. Identification and prioritization
of farmers’ innovations in northern Ghana. Renewable Agriculture and
Food Systems, available on CJO2014. doi:10.1017/S1742170514000374
Related topics
Contact: Justice Tambo, tambojustice(at)yahoo.com
Farmers’ innovation contest focal point of Innovation Fair in Burkina Faso