DETERMINANTS OF SMALLHOLDER FARMERS’ ACCESS TO MOBILE PHONE BASED MONEY TRANSFER SERVICES – EVIDENCE FROM VOLTA REGION OF GHANA

Abstract

Objective: Smallholder farmers’ access to Mobile Phone Based Money Transfer Services in Akatsi North District of Volta Region of Ghana under the Planting for Food and Jobs Programme. Methods: Primary data were collected from 300 farmers in beneficiary districts while secondary data were gathered from literatures and various actors. A multi-stage sampling technique was used in selecting respondents for the study. The first stage involved selecting ten communities that benefited from the planting for food and jobs program in the Akatsi North district, while the second stage considered randomly selecting 30 beneficiary farmers in each community. Obtained data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and STATA-11 software. Results were presented in the form of descriptive statistics, cross tabulation, and Logit regression model. Results: Majority of respondents (74%) do not use Mobile Phone Based Money Transfer platform for any agricultural transaction. Is only 26% of the respondents that use the mobile money platform for their agribusiness activities. Out of the nine explanatory variables included in the Logit regression model, six of them were significant at p<0.01, p<0.05, and p<0.1. Significant factors include: Educational level of households, age, major occupation, accessibility of mobile money service provider, convenience to respondent, trust of the system, and availability of mobile money service. Conclusions: The availability and accessibility of Mobile Phone Based Money financial services among smallholder farmers is key to achieving competitive global business.