TY - JOUR
T1 - Coping with adversity
T2 - Resilience dynamics of livestock farmers in two agroecological zones of Ghana
AU - Nuvey, Francis Sena
AU - Addo-Lartey, Adolphina
AU - Nortey, Priscillia Awo
AU - Addo, Kennedy Kwasi
AU - Bonfoh, Bassirou
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/9/1
Y1 - 2021/9/1
N2 - Despite the increasing occurrence of adverse events including droughts and conflicts, livestock farmers in Ghana continue to raise animals to support their livelihoods and the national economy. We assessed the resilience of cattle farmers (CF) to adverse events they faced using a cross-sectional survey of 287 CF in two agroecological zones in Ghana. Resilience to adversities was assessed using the Resilience Scale (RS-14). Resilience scores and categories were computed and factors that explained varia-tions in resilience categories assessed. The farmers kept, on average, 31 cattle per household, with a majority (91%) also growing crops. Key adverse events confronting them in both districts were animal disease outbreaks, pasture shortages, and theft, with 85% (240/287) losing, on average, seven cattle (15% of the herd size) over a one-year period. The mean resilience score was 71 (SD = 8) out of 98; 52% were highly resilient. Resilience was higher in the southern district (72 versus 70), albeit not statistically significant (p = 0.06). The resilience significantly improved with age, each unit increase in cattle in the herd, and having experience raising livestock (p < 0.001). The CF have relatively high resilience to adverse events affecting their productivity. The findings provide relevant information for implementing mitigation measures to improve production by reducing animal mortalities through high-quality veteri-nary services.
AB - Despite the increasing occurrence of adverse events including droughts and conflicts, livestock farmers in Ghana continue to raise animals to support their livelihoods and the national economy. We assessed the resilience of cattle farmers (CF) to adverse events they faced using a cross-sectional survey of 287 CF in two agroecological zones in Ghana. Resilience to adversities was assessed using the Resilience Scale (RS-14). Resilience scores and categories were computed and factors that explained varia-tions in resilience categories assessed. The farmers kept, on average, 31 cattle per household, with a majority (91%) also growing crops. Key adverse events confronting them in both districts were animal disease outbreaks, pasture shortages, and theft, with 85% (240/287) losing, on average, seven cattle (15% of the herd size) over a one-year period. The mean resilience score was 71 (SD = 8) out of 98; 52% were highly resilient. Resilience was higher in the southern district (72 versus 70), albeit not statistically significant (p = 0.06). The resilience significantly improved with age, each unit increase in cattle in the herd, and having experience raising livestock (p < 0.001). The CF have relatively high resilience to adverse events affecting their productivity. The findings provide relevant information for implementing mitigation measures to improve production by reducing animal mortalities through high-quality veteri-nary services.
KW - Food security
KW - Livestock farmers
KW - Resilience
KW - Vulnerability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85113576824&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph18179008
DO - 10.3390/ijerph18179008
M3 - Article
C2 - 34501600
AN - SCOPUS:85113576824
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 18
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 17
M1 - 9008
ER -