Profitability and constraints to urban exotic vegetable production systems in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana: a recipe for job creation
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Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research
Abstract
Some vegetable producers perceive their venture to be unprofitable owing to
cheating at the farm gate. This study sought to determine profitability of production
of exotic vegetables which are not native of Ghana. The study used data collected
from 80 urban exotic vegetable farmers. Descriptive statistics, gross margin analysis,
multiple linear regression, and the Garrett ranking scale were the methods of
analysis. The most profitable system from the results of the net margin ratio was the
production of lettuce as a sole crop with net margin ratio of 71% which explains the
popularity of lettuce among exotic vegetable producers in the metropolis.
Household size, experience, and access to credit positively affected profitability while
farm size as well as costs of labor and fertilizer had negative effects. Farmers ranked
high input cost, land tenure insecurity, and high cost of irrigation as challenges to
urban exotic vegetable production. We recommend that urban exotic vegetable
production should be considered as a source of employment. Government and
financial institutions should improve farmer access to credit to enable them to hire
adequate labor and acquire technologies and production inputs.
Description
This article is published in Journal of Global
Entrepreneurship Research and also available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s40497-019-0158-2
Keywords
Cabbage, Cost, Ghana, Lettuce, Production systems, Revenue, Spring onion