This research paper is a result of a study that
assessed the influence of livelihood assets (the human, natural, physical,
social, financial, assets) on the outcomes of smallholder farmers in Bawku East
District in Northern Ghana. The study adopted a descriptive and correlational
study design and employed mixed methods approach. It surveyed and interviewed
400 respondents and study participants in
four villages in the Bawku East District that were affected by large scale land
acquisitions for community development projects and by individuals for residential purposes. It was found out that, in terms of the importance of livelihood assets in the Bawku East
District; Financial Capital is of most
importance to the participants (Cum. mean 4.5275), followed by Physical
capital (Cum. mean 4.3175) and social capital (Cum. mean 4.3175), Natural Capital (Cum. mean 4.31), and the least
is Human Capital Assets (Cum. mean 3.395). This also means that the
farmers in the Bawku East District do not have a strong human capital as
compared to the others. But then, need more
financial capital to be productive and survive due to the high rate of land acquisition. The results show that there is
high level of experience in crop farming among farmers in Bawku East
District (M = 4.04), and this experience is an important human capital
asset that need to be relied on among farmers for better livelihoods.
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