Do farmer-actor interactions in the agricultural innovation system drive technological innovation adoption in Ghana?

Abstract

The low level of technological innovation adoption among farmers has been a development concern. However, not much attention has been paid to how agricultural innovation system actors contribute to the adoption of technological innovations among farmers. This paper, therefore, analyzed the factors that drive the adoption of technological innovations using the agricultural innovation system concept. The study adopted a mixed method approach where qualitative data from focus group discussions were used to triangulate findings obtained from the quantitative data analyzed. A two-period panel data of 3486 observations of randomly sampled agricultural households across Ghana was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the multinomial logit regression model. Findings showed that farmers with strong ties in the innovation system had a higher probability of adopting multiple sets of innovations, compared to those with weaker linkages. Platforms that encourage actor interactions such as innovation platforms should be strengthened to increase the innovative performance of smallholder farmers. This study is one of the few that have quantified the effect the agricultural innovation system has on the adoption of innovations and hence makes a positive contribution to the budding literature regarding the importance of unpacking actor interactions whilst considering a holistic inquiry of the agricultural innovation system.