Precision agriculture techniques are increasingly being adopted by farmers to enhance crop yields. In northern Ghana, cassava farming is a critical livelihood activity, yet little research has explored how these techniques are adopted and their impact on yields. A mixed-methods approach was employed, involving a survey of 150 cassava farmers followed by in-depth interviews with 20 selected respondents to gather qualitative insights into their experiences and challenges with precision agriculture technologies. The findings indicate that while 78% of the surveyed farmers have adopted at least one precision agriculture technique, there is a significant disparity in adoption rates across different age groups (45-60 years: 91%, <30 years: 52%). Precision agriculture techniques show promise for enhancing yields among northern Ghanaian cassava farmers. However, perceived high initial costs and technical difficulties hinder wider adoption. Farmers' organizations should be encouraged to provide training on precision agriculture technologies and financial support to overcome barriers. Policy makers could consider subsidies or incentives to promote technology uptake. Cassava farming, Precision Agriculture, Yields Enhancement, Northern Ghana Model estimation used =argmin_ᵢ (yᵢ, f_ (xᵢ) ) +₂², with performance evaluated using out-of-sample error.
Chiraimbwe Obioaka (Tue,) studied this question.