Adams Faizal, Mensah James Osei, Etuah Seth, Appiah Gifty Boakye, Mensah Amos, Aidoo Robert, Quaye Jonathan, Ofori Kwabena
Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Heliyon. 2023 Dec 19;10(1):e23863. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23863. eCollection 2024 Jan 15.
Despite the fact that adhering to cocoa quality management practices (QMPs) is crucial to satisfy consumer food safety standards and receive premium cocoa pricing, evidence of cocoa farmers' compliance with these recommended QMPs is scanty in Ghana. The purpose of this study was to assess the extent and antecedents of farmers' compliance with six QMPs including pest and disease, harvesting and pod storage, pod breaking and bean removal, fermentation, drying, and bagging and storage practices in Ghana. Data from 200 farmers was solicited and analyzed using a compliance index as well as a seemingly unrelated regression (SURE) model to account for cross-correlation effects among six recommended QMPs. The results show an overall index of 2.46, implying that the cocoa farmers moderately comply with the six QMPs. Specifically, compliance levels for fermentation (index = 2.90) and drying (index = 2.92) practices are high, while farmers showed low compliance with bagging and storage practices (index = 1.33). The SURE model exhibits heterogeneous covariates that influence farmers' compliance across the six QMPs. However, extension access, sex of the farmer, and to some extent awareness of quality management practices, as well as education, are significant determinants of compliance across all six quality management practices. These findings have implications for strengthening the Extension Services Division of COCOBOD and gender mainstreaming of cocoa quality improvement training to address the challenges of women cocoa farmers.
尽管遵守可可质量管理规范(QMPs)对于满足消费者食品安全标准并获得优质可可价格至关重要,但在加纳,可可农遵守这些推荐的QMPs的证据却很少。本研究的目的是评估加纳可可农对包括病虫害防治、收获和荚果储存、荚果破碎和豆子去除、发酵、干燥以及装袋和储存规范在内的六项QMPs的遵守程度及影响因素。收集了来自200名农民的数据,并使用合规指数以及看似不相关回归(SURE)模型进行分析,以考虑六项推荐的QMPs之间的交叉相关效应。结果显示总体指数为2.46,这意味着可可农适度遵守了这六项QMPs。具体而言,发酵(指数 = 2.90)和干燥(指数 = 2.92)规范的遵守水平较高,而农民对装袋和储存规范的遵守程度较低(指数 = 1.33)。SURE模型显示了影响农民对六项QMPs遵守情况的异质协变量。然而,推广服务的获取、农民的性别,以及在一定程度上质量管理规范的认知度和教育程度,都是所有六项质量管理规范遵守情况的重要决定因素。这些发现对于加强可可局的推广服务部门以及将可可质量改进培训纳入性别主流以应对女性可可农面临的挑战具有启示意义。
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