Fearless Farmers are Rich Farmers

Did you know some smallholder farmers are also businesswomen and men? Since they buy and sell, they are businesspeople. They buy inputs, use them on the farm, and then sell some or all of what they reap on the market. 

But sometimes things go wrong on the farm. Rains may fail, pests may attack the crops, and the farmer may even fall ill. All of these can have a devastating impact on the farm's yield. For that reason, some farmers develop a horrible fear of things, causing them to avoid things they are not so sure of. Others are more daring and consider these uncertainties as an opportunity for growth. A common feature runs across these groups of farmers. They make decisions in response to these threats. Those decisions can either increase or decrease the cost of production (cost efficiency) or affect farm yield (technical efficiency). I, therefore, sought to find out how the decisions taken in response to these threats affect the profits from the farm.

Using a sample of smallholder maize farmers from Ghana, I found that most smallholder maize farmers are daring and willing to try new things despite the uncertainty. This willingness is influenced to a large extent by their membership in farmer groups, the level of education, and access to financial credit. Further, farmers who are fearless of the threats, on average, make more profits than their counterparts. They are willing to adopt tools and practices with uncertain outcomes.