Farm operation injuries among cocoa famers in Ghana: Investigating the causes, choice of treatment and compliance to safety standards

AbstractThis study investigated the socioeconomic factors that predispose cocoa farmers to farm operation injuries, their choice of treatment and compliance with recommended safety standards. It used the multi-stage sampling technique to collect data from 400 cocoa farmers. Descriptive statistics, the ordered logistic and the multinomial logistic regression model were the method of analysis. The study found that injuries occur at all stages of farm operations, and sex, age, education level, alternative livelihood, household size, and farm size are associated with increased risk of injury. The majority of cocoa farmers prefer self-medication, with this practice being more common among young, less-educated male farmers with more farming experience and large farm sizes. It was found that compliance with recommended safety standards was influenced by sex, age, marital status, education level, farming experience, access to credit, and membership of a cooperative association. There is a need to raise awareness and provide education to cocoa farmers about the consequences of using herbal remedies and self-medication, and to emphasize the importance of seeking professional medical assistance. The study fills the literature gap by highlighting the socioeconomic factors that predispose farmers to injuries, the factors behind their choice of treatment methods and compliance with safety standards.Keywords: cocoa farmerscompliancefarm operationsinjuriessafety standardstreatment AcknowledgementThis research is part of a thesis submitted to the Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana in 2023 by Gifty-Maria Sangber-Dery for the award of Master of Science in Agricultural Extension and Development Communication. The authors of this paper are thankful to her and are also grateful to the anonymous reviewers of AJSTID whose comments were important in reshaping the paper.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.