LOESS Analysis Of Plowing Charges And Acreage Plowed In The Agro-Ecological Zones Of Ghana

The plowing charges of farm tractor-hire service enterprises sometimes influence the acreage plowed. This study was to explore the relationship between farm acreage plowed and the plowing service charges of farm tractor-hire service enterprises and also assess the effect of changes in plowing charges of farm tractor-hire service providers on the acreage plowed for smallholder farmers in four agro-ecological zones (the coastal savannah, deciduous forest, transitional, and guinea savannah) of Ghana using a locally weighted regression (LOESS). A total of 120 tractor- hire service providers who plowed for smallholder farmers over the period of 2008 and 2011 were randomly sampled across the four agro-ecological zones and interviewed. The results showed that the relation between the farm acreage plowed and the plowing service charges varied from one agro- ecological zone to the other and the average maximum acreage plowed per service provider was found to be in the neighborhood of 270 acres at average rate of GH¢29 per acre in the Coastal Savannah Zone, 850 acres at average rate of GH¢28 per acre in the Deciduous Forest Zone, 650 acres at average rate of GH¢25 per acre in the Transitional Zone, and 450 acres at average rate of GH¢24 per acre in the Guinea Savannah Zone. The overall outcome of this study would assist the tractor-hire service providers, policy makers, and agricultural extension agents to know the suitable average plowing charges that a lot of the smallholder farmers could afford at the various agro-ecological zones to promote the plowing of more farm lands.