What do we know about clients of fee-for-service training programmes in livestock production in Ghana?

The study profiled clients of fee-for-service livestock production training programmes in Ghana and analysed gender differences in clients’ characteristics and segments. Secondary data on 128 clients who participated in livestock production training programmes organized between 2020 and 2022 by a research organisation in Ghana were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, and cluster analysis. Only a fifth of participants were women; however, most of them had tertiary level education. Majority of clients were aged between 30 and 50 years and had little or no experience in rearing the livestock associated with their training. The analysis further revealed two participant clusters based on age and experience. Moreover, based on comparisons of means using t-test or proportions using chi square or Fisher’s exact test, there were no gender differences in the socio-demographic characteristics of participants, composition of cluster members or the share of participants in a particular programme. These findings suggest that training programmes should be designed to meet the needs of both experienced and inexperienced farmers, and younger and older farmers. This paper contributes to the literature on the demand side of fee -based extension services by studying clients who actually paid for training instead of persons who just expressed willingness to pay for training programmes. Moreover, insight is provided into which category of clients patronized fee-based programmes and how they could be better targeted.