Analysis of constraints to poverty reduction among smallholder farmers in Northern Region, Ghana

The northern part of Ghana is bedeviled with high incidence of poverty with threatening food insecurity. Agriculture is the main stay of the people in northern Ghana. In spite of the introduction of variety of poverty reduction strategies, the region remains the hardest hit in terms of the numbers of poor people. This study sought to evaluate the constraints to poverty reduction among farmers in the northern region. The study made use of data from a survey of 420 farmers from five randomly selected districts in the region. Multi-stage sampling process was employed. In-depth interviews were used on the key informants. Descriptive statistics and Kendal’s coefficient of concordance were employed to analyse the data. The study reveals that poverty reduction in the northern part of the country is plagued with several constraints. Prominent of these constraints include erratic climatic conditions, inadequate financial credit, poor road network, market volatility of agricultural produce, bush fires, pest and disease outbreak, poor economic opportunities, violent conflicts, corruption and mismanagement of poverty reduction packages. It is recommended that central government, decentralized agencies and poverty alleviation oriented NGOs give priority attention to agriculture in the region. Key words: Smallholder farmer, poverty reduction, constraints, Kendall’s coefficient.