Crop Yield Volatility Among Smallholder Farmers in Ghana

This paper attempts to explore crop yield volatility among rural and urban smallholder farmers. The data for the study was sourced from the sixth round of the Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS 6). Three separate Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) models were estimated to determine the effect of access to credit, rural farming, and the use of multiple input technology on crop yield. Stochastic Dominance Analysis (SDA) reveals that while rural farmers in the forest and coastal zones experience less volatility in their crop yield, crop yield is highly volatile among rural farmers in the savannah belt. To increase yield among smallholder farmers in Ghana, policy should focus on making credit available to farmers, especially those in the rural areas. Education on the use of technology in farming will help to increase yield and reduce volatility