TITLE:
Evaluating the Constraints to Development of Agricultural Insurance for Cashew Crop Farmers in Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana
AUTHORS:
Nicholas Oppong Mensah, Simon Cudjo Fialor, Edward Yeboah
KEYWORDS:
Agricultural Insurance, Constraints, Suggestions for Insurance Uptake
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.5 No.2,
April
13,
2017
ABSTRACT: Research evidence from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in 2011 gives credence to the notion that cashew development would mitigate the impact of climate change on cocoa in 2012. This makes cashew development imperative, however to do so requires access to credit from financial institutions, which ration credits when it comes to lending to the agricultural sector. Research evidence has shown a correlation between agricultural insurance and loan uptake in Malawi and Ghana. However an evaluation of the cashew subsector in the Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana with an aim of developing agricultural insurance schemes for cashew crop farmers has not been without constraints. This study sought to investigate the key constraints that would impede the development of agricultural insurance for cashew crop farmers in the Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana. Based on a positivist research philosophy, the study employed quantitative techniques. A multistage sampling technique was employed, which involved purposively selecting stakeholders of Ghana Agricultural Insurance Pool (GAIP). A simple random sampling technique was also employed to select 30 pool stakeholders from GAIP. Data were collected by means of structured questionnaires. Data were analyzed by employing descriptive statistics, and the Kendall coefficient of concordance was used in identifying and analyzing the perceived constraints to developing agricultural insurance for the cashew crop farmers in the study area. The result from the survey indicated that high marketing cost; high premiums (making the product unaffordable); lack of agricultural insurance legislation; low availability of data; lack of knowledge about product development; and lack of qualified personnel in the area of agricultural insurance were some of the perceived constraints that would impede the development of agricultural insurance in the study area. Thus a Public Private Partnership approach, as well as research and development, is imperative to overcome the financial, marketing, institutional, technical data, human resources and legal constraints to agricultural insurance and cashew development in the study area.