OF RICE PRODUCTION An Economic Analysis of Rice Production Systems in the Upper East Region of Ghana

Local rice production is being promoted in Ghana to reduce the· dependence on imports, ensure stable low-prices food for the population and also create employment. This paper examines three rice production systems; Upland, Valley Bottom and Irrigated, in the Upper East Region of Ghana with a view to establishing the production costs, returns and factors affecting rice output. Data were collected from a random sample of lOS small-scale farmers of three local government areas, Bolgatanga Municipal, Builsa District and Kassena-Nankana District, through a questionnaire survey. Data were analyzed using cost structures, net returns and Cobb-Douglas production function analyses. The data revealed that irrigated rice system had the highest total cost of production, followed by Valley Rice and then Upland. It was also found that higher yields on irrigated fields offset the higher cost. Hence, higher returns above variable cost for irrigated fields. The study revealed that sex of the farmer and number of years of experience in rice production, labor input, fertilizer input and number of years in formal education determined to a large extent rice yields in the study area. Fertilizer was the only variable that significantly influenced rice yields on all the production systems and also the largest contributor to total cost of production among the systems, thus, emphasizing the importance of fertilizer in rice production.