Urban Vegetable Production in Ghana: Investigating the Financial Viability and Key Drivers of Irrigation Techniques

Abstract

Irrigation is an integral part of vegetable production in the cities of Ghana. Urban vegetable farmers therefore have to make a choice with regards their livelihood and the interests of consumers in their decision to adopt an irrigation technique. This study investigates the factors that influence vegetable farmers’ decision to use various irrigation techniques for production in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana. A total of 150 vegetable farmers were selected using the simple random approach from three purposively selected sub-metros in the Kumasi Metropolis. The most common irrigation technique used for vegetable production in Kumasi was watering can irrigation (relatively less expensive). The revenue of vegetable farmers who use pump for irrigation was 18.23% more than those who use watering can for irrigation. Farm size, source of water, annual production cycles, seasonal revenue, household size, lettuce production and method of land acquisition influenced vegetable farmers’ decision to use an irrigation technique. The labour intensive nature of watering can irrigation was identified as the key constraint associated with its use, whilst that of pump irrigation was the high cost involved. The study concludes that pump irrigation is cost-effective, less laborious and encourages relatively large-scale production. Therefore, the adoption of pump for irrigation is recommended.