An Empirical Study on Supporting Joint Decision-Making by Couples to Promote Sustainable Farm Management and Income Improvement in Ghana

This intervention aims to enhance agricultural income by providing tailored farm management strategies based on each household’s crop cultivation patterns and technology use. The solutions are designed using crop cultivation data collected in 2013 and 2015, offering customized recommendations tailored to the specific characteristics of each farm. These recommendations include crop selection, land allocation, and the use of existing technology, carefully analyzed and thoughtfully designed.

To ensure effective implementation, extension agents from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) will receive comprehensive training on how to interpret and deliver these tailored solutions. This training focuses on equipping agents with the skills to effectively communicate strategies to farmers and address any questions or concerns that may arise. Following the training, extension agents will visit participating farms to distribute and explain the tailored solutions, provide guidance on proper implementation, and offer on-site support.

2025-04-14

2025-05-31

Household decision-making dynamics, Farm revenue, profit, productivity, and adoption status of each proposed practice

The outcome variable “household decision-making dynamics” will be constructed using a bean allocation exercise designed to quantify the distribution of decision-making power between the household head and their spouse across various domains. Participants are provided with 10 beans and asked to allocate them between themselves and their spouse based on their respective influence in making specific decisions.

Key Decision Domains:
1. Agricultural Decisions:
• Crop Selection: Allocation of beans based on decisions about what crops to cultivate.
• Seed Choice: Decisions regarding whether to buy high-yield seed varieties or continue using traditional seeds.
• Farm Equipment: Choices about purchasing new farm equipment or continuing with existing tools.
• Livestock Management: Decisions about when to sell off livestock.

2. Financial Decisions:
• Use of Cash from Crops: Allocation of income from the sale of cash crops.
• Use of Cash from Livestock: Allocation of income from the sale of livestock.
• Market Choices: Decisions about where to sell cash crops.

3. Household Welfare Decisions:
• Food Choices: Decisions about what foods to feed the family.
• Child Education: Decisions regarding whether to send children to school.

4. Adoption of Innovations:
• Decisions on whether to adopt new farming practices or innovations, such as high-yield seeds or new techniques.

Construction of the Index:
• Bean Allocation Data: The proportion of beans allocated to each individual (self vs. spouse) for each decision will serve as a measure of decision-making power in that domain.
• Joint Decision Index: A sub-index will be created to capture the degree of shared decision-making by summing the domains where beans are equally distributed (5:5).
• Dominance Index: A measure will capture the concentration of decision-making power when one individual consistently allocates a majority of beans (e.g., 8:2 or 9:1) across multiple domains.

[The study on couple training]
To assess whether providing tailored farm management information to both the household head and their spouse is more effective in improving agricultural outcomes and technology adoption than providing it to the household head alone, the households are divided into the following groups:

• Treatment Group 1: Tailored solutions are provided and explained to the household head only.
• Treatment Group 2: Tailored solutions are provided and explained to both the household head and their spouse, promoting joint decision-making and participation.
• Control Group: No tailored solutions or related information are provided.

[The study on multiple training]
To evaluate whether providing tailored agricultural information to farmers twice over two years is more effective in improving agricultural outcomes and technology adoption than providing it only once in a single year, households are divided into the following groups:

Experimental Groups:
• Pure Control Group: No solutions are provided.
• T1 (Single Intervention in 2025): Tailored solutions are provided in 2025 only.
• T2 (Single Intervention in 2027): Tailored solutions are provided in 2027 only.
• T3 (Double Intervention in 2025 and 2027):Tailored solutions are provided in both 2025 and 2027.

Not available

Randomization done in office by a computer

Village

Yes

40 Villages

981 households

The study on couple training involves:
10 villages assigned to the control group, 15 villages receiving training provided to the household head only, and 15 villages receiving training provided to both the household head and their spouse.

The study on multiple training involves:
10 villages assigned to the control group, 10 villages receiving training in 2025, 10 villages receiving training in 2027, and 10 villages receiving training in both 2025 and 2027.