Practices and constraints in bambara groundnuts production, marketing and consumption in the Brong Ahafo and Upper East Regions of Ghana

Abstract

A study was undertaken to understand the practices and major constraints in bambara groundnut production, marketing and consumption in the Brong Ahafo (Transition) and Upper East (Guinea Savannah) Regions of Ghana. A total of 200 bambara producers, 33 marketers and 68 consumers were randomly chosen and interviewed from the Brong Ahafo and the Upper East regions of Ghana. Three bambara groundnut growing districts in the Transition agro-ecology; Nkoranza, Wenchi west and four districts in the Guinea Savannah agro-ecology; Bawku West, Kasena Nankana, Talensi Nabdam and Builsa were studied between August 2006 and January, 2007. Three separate questionnaires were developed to target producers, marketers and consumers in this study. The study confirmed more females (63%) produced bambara than males (37%). More farmers produced bambara solely for cash in the Transition (73%) whereas in Guinea savannah most farmers produced for cash and subsistence (78%). Most farmers (65%) depend on farmer saved seeds for planting. Sellers and consumers preferred white or cream seeds with large sizes. The major problem with bambara is the long cooking time of mature seeds