Adoption Dynamics of Drought-Resistant Sorghum Varieties Among Northern Ghanaian Smallholder Farmers: A Thematic Analysis over Three Years

Drought-resistant sorghum varieties have been introduced to address agricultural challenges in northern Ghana's arid regions. A thematic analysis was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 150 farmers. Data were analysed for themes related to variety selection, farmer knowledge, and economic benefits. Uncertainty in findings is represented by a confidence interval (95%). Farmers showed a preference for varieties that performed well under drought conditions, with adoption rates varying between 40% and 60%. Economic returns were significantly higher for adopters compared to non-adopters. Adoption of drought-resistant sorghum varieties was influenced by farmer knowledge about the crops' resilience and economic benefits. These factors can inform future agricultural policy in similar arid regions. Investment in farmer education programmes on drought-resilient crop management is recommended to enhance adoption rates and yield improvements. Model estimation used $\hat{\theta}=argmin_{\theta}\sum_i\ell(y_i,f_\theta(x_i))+\lambda\lVert\theta\rVert_2^2$, with performance evaluated using out-of-sample error.