Participation in contract farming and farm performance: Insights from cashew farmers in Ghana

The global demand for cashew nuts continues to increase steadily. However, many African countries face difficulties in marketing and adding value to the product. Using recent survey data of 391 cashew farmers in Ghana, this paper contributes to the grow- ing evidence on the significance of contract farming (CF) in improving the welfare of rural households in developing countries. Specifically, the paper analyzes the fac- tors that influence cashew farmers’ decisions to participate in CF, and the impact of participation on farmers’ performance. We employ a recently developed switch- ing regression model with endogenous explanatory variables and endogenous switch- ing to control for selection bias caused by observable and unobservable factors. The empirical results show that participation in CF significantly increases labor produc- tivity and price margins, as well as cashew yields, and net revenues. A disaggregated analysis of the sample into farm size categories reveals that small-sized cashew farms tend to benefit more through CF, compared to medium- and large-sized farms

Enhancing employability opportunities for Pharmacy students; a case study of processes to implement competency‐based education in Pharmacy in Kenya

This paper challenges the western concept of graduate employability as a measure of student success through a case study of a collaboration between pharmacy colleagues in universities in Nairobi, Kenya and Nottingham, UK. As Pharmacy programmes globally adapt their courses to a competency-based education (CBE) approach, we outline the implications of this for graduate success in Kenya. The Ministry of Education in Kenya recently announced a move to CBE across all educational sectors. This has led to a reconfiguring of how pharmacy is not only taught, but also assessed, and what success means for pharmacy graduates in Kenya. The collaboration has highlighted the need for key stakeholders to work together and influence policy change, and redefine employability in terms of behaviours that meet country-wide needs. We outline some of the processes and collaborations we formed to redevelop pharmacy programmes in Kenya, and suggest recommendations for continuing partnerships and sustainability

Factors Affecting Loan Repayment Performance Among Yam Farmers in the Sene District, Ghana

The study analyzed the factors that are critical in improving loan repayment by yam farmers in the Sene district of Ghana. Random sampling technique was used to select 100 respondents in the district and structured questionnaire was administered to collect data. Descriptive statistics and the probit model were employed. The results show that 42% of yam farmers in Sene district are illiterates. More males (93%) are involved in yam farming than females (7%) and most of the farmers are married (91%). Also most of the yam farmers in the district have a family size of 6-10 households (66%) and 54% of them have 1-10 years of yam farming experience. Also, the results show that education, experience, profit, age, supervision and off-farm income have positive effects on loan repayment performance. Conversely, gender and marriage have negative effects on loan repayment while the effect of household size was found to be ambiguous