GlobalGAP Certification and Export Market Accessibility by Small-scale Mango Farmers in Southern Ghana

Rexford Akronga; Stephen G. Mbogoha; Patrick Irungua

GlobalGAP Certification and Export Market Accessibility by Small-scale Mango Farmers in Southern Ghana

EuroSciCon Joint Event On Biotechnology , Biochemistry and Aquaculture

August 08-09, 2019 | Paris, France

Rexford Akronga, Stephen G. Mbogoha, Patrick Irungua

a Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences (University of Nairobi, Kenya)

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Biochem Mol biol J

Abstract:

Horticulture significantly contributes to the gross domestic product of Ghana. Pineapple is the leading export commodity in this sector. However, mango has a big potential in growth and of becoming Ghana’s leading non-traditional export. Export market accessibility by small-scale mango farmers in Southern Ghana is low and this could stem from the low level of GlobalGap certification among small-scale mango farmers in the region. This study seeks to analyze the factors that influence GlobalGAP certification and the influence of GlobalGAP certification on the level of participation in the export market by smallscale mango farmers in Southern Ghana. Primary data was collected from 224 small-scale mango farmers in Southern Ghana using the multistage sampling procedure. Socioeconomic and institutional factors were employed to analyze the determinants of certification and the influence of certification on export market accessibility. The endogenous treatment regression model was used to estimate the effect of certification on export market participation by mango farmers in Southern Ghana. The findings of the study indicate that almost half of the farmers (49.55%) are certified, whiles only a mango farmers in Southern Ghana (35%) have access to the export market. The study found that membership of farmer-based organizations, family size, level of trust in export market and access to credit are the main drivers of acquiring a GlobalGap certificate whiles the number of years of schooling of a farmer, household income, access to storage facilities and certification are the main factors that influence the level of participation in the export market by smallholder mango farmers. The study recommends that policymakers should ensure access to credit by mango farmers and the need for farmers to join farmer-based organizations. This will increase the certification of smallholder mango farmers in Southern Ghana, hence increased export market participation and increased income.