Production Challenges and Postharvest Practices of Groundnut in Northern Ghana: The Participatory Rural Appraisal Approach

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) production and postharvest evaluation study was undertaken in
thirty (30) districts selected from the Northern Regions of Ghana, by employing the Participatory Rural
Appraisal (P.R.A.) procedure. Thirty (30) districts, ten (10) from each Region (Upper West, Upper
East, North East, Savannah and Northern), were chosen. Interviews and focus group discussions
were held using both closed and open-ended questionnaires, and involved 600 individual key
informants; 20 from each district/community and thirty (30) focus group discussions in all. The main
aim of the research was to solicit general information regarding the core production constraints and
postharvest activities and marketing of groundnuts as it pertains in Northern Ghana, which is the
major producing area in the country. The Statistical Package for the Social Scientists (SPSS version
17.0) and Microsoft Excel were used to analyze data obtained from the questionnaire; Results were
summarized into means, using standard error and percentages, where necessary. The association
between storage structures and duration of groundnuts in storage was tested by the Chi-Square
statistic method. Results obtained from the study shows that ‘China’ local groundnut variety was the
most cultivated (76.5%, 99.5%, 96.5%) in all three regions (N/R, U/E and U/W respectively). A
participatory rural appraisal ranked drought (4.43), disease (3.53), yield potential (3.50) and pests
(3.23) as the major and most important production constraints. Majority (41.0%) of the farmers who
were aged between 40 and 49, had no formal education (74.7%) and maintained an average farm
size of 4 acres, out of which groundnut farm sizes were about 1 to 2 acres. Most of the farmers also
preferred ‘Chinese’, ‘Agric-Manipinta’ and ‘Obolo’ groundnut varieties based on high yield potential
(pod and seed size), ease of harvesting, drought-tolerance, earliness and high market value. Reason
for choice of variety was high yielding (73.33%) and ease of harvesting and drought tolerance
(32.67%). Most efficient Storage structure for groundnuts was Jute sack (93%). Average length of
storage was 5-6 months (74.45%). Most common storage pests were Grain weevils (57; 9.50%) and
Cercospora sp. (28; 4.67%). Most common storage diseases were Aflatoxin (78; 13%) and Aspegillus
sp. (21; 3.50%). Improvement in the storage structures, therefore, has a higher likelihood of
increasing the duration of groundnut in storage. The major end use of groundnut according to the
study was groundnut paste (50%). Groundnuts had ready market (489; 81.50%) according to farmers.
Relay of information across the value chain was mostly by colleague farmers (39.33%),
MoFA (31.33%) and NGOs (13.83%). The scale of measurement used was common for bowls and
100 kg bag. Average market price of a 100 kg bag and a bowl were Ghs136.55%, Ghs3.43
respectively.