Do factors of farm size sustenance determine food consumption status of rural farm households? Evidence from southern Ghana

Abstract

AbstractWe examined factors that influence farm size sustenance and food consumption status of rural farm households. We used survey data comprising a sample size of 390 households. The study employed quantile and ordered logistic models to estimate the impacts of farm sustenance indicators on farm size cultivated and food consumption, respectively. We found that farm size is influenced positively by input expenditures, household sizes, types of crops, farm credits and subsidies. Besides, lack of farm labour adversely affected farm sizes of some categories of farmers. Besides, increasing farm input expenditures, lack of labour, farm credits and subsidies reduce the food consumption status of the households. We recommend that policymakers consider an integrated approach to farm sustenance and specific segregated attention to the individual categories of food consumption status of farm households. These could be achieved through the provision of farm credits and subsidies among other factors that sustain farm sizes and food consumption of the households.

Keywords

• Farm sizes
• Food consumption
• Farm households
• external shocks
• rural Ghana