2010 Volume 5 Issue 2 Pages 191-202
Slash-and-burn farming in the Atwima-Nwabiagya district of Ghana has contributed to more fragile farmland and low soil fertility, resulting in very low crop yields. No-tillage is an agricultural practice whereby a crop is established without any prior tillage or burning of the land, and it was introduced to Ghanaian farmers by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in 1995. In this study, factors affecting the promotion, adoption, and impacts of no-tillage farming were assessed. Questionnaires were administered to 50 farmers categorized as: adopter (practicing no-tillage farming), deserter (abandoned the practice), or never (never practiced no-tillage). Slash-and-burn farmers used 16 man-days/ha for land preparation, whereas no-tillage farmers required 14 man-days/ha for land preparation. In-crop weed control required 12 man-days for slash-and-burn farming and 8 man-days under no-tillage. Slash-and-burn farmers employed 18 man-days/ha for harvesting maize, whereas no-tillage farmers used 24 man-days/ha. No-tillage farmers listed the following benefits of using this system: increased yield (18% of respondents), reduced labor (17%), conserved soil moisture (16%), improved soil nutrients (15%), increased farm size (13%), reduced soil erosion (11%), and reduced production costs (10%). Information on no-tillage practices was diffused by farmer-to-farmer information transfer. Most farmers practiced a mixed cropping system instead of a crop rotation system, and male farmers were seen to be more innovative and likely to adopt new technologies than their female counterparts. The reported challenges associated with no-tillage included poor society recognition of no-tillage practices, difficulties in planting through residues and application of herbicide, and pest invasion. The lack of no-tillage planters makes it rather difficult for large-scale farmers to switch from conventional farming to no-tillage. More effort is needed to investigate multipurpose conservation farming approaches suitable for fruit and crop production. Agricultural engineers and other experts must collaborate to develop suitable conservation agricultural tools and equipment for small-scale farmers to enhance agriculture production.
