Impact of GlobalGAP compliance on cost of production in small-scale pineapple farming in Ghana

Abstract

Introduction. Food safety standards play a critical role in governing global food production and trade. They ensure that food is produced, processed, and distributed under hygienic and safe conditions. Notable among them is GlobalGAP, which is implemented globally and widely recognised as the most important voluntary food safety standards in the fresh produce industry. Although GlobalGAP compliance has enhanced hygienic and safe food production in Ghana and other developing countries, adoption rates have been low among smallholders. Previous studies have identified cost of GlobalGAP compliance as the key constraint hindering its uptake by smallholders. However, little research has been done to attribute this increase in cost to specific inputs used by farmers. Such information would help policymakers to target interventions at the most important drivers of quality-enhancing compliance costs and make adoption of GlobalGAP more affordable to small-scale farmers. This study analyses the cost of pineapple production for GlobalGAP certified smallholders in Ghana. Data and methods. The study relied on household and farm-level data to investigate the research problems. A multistage sampling approach was used to select districts, communities, and small-scale pineapple farmers. Data were solicited via a field survey of 236 GlobalGAP certified small-scale pineapple households in Ghana. We employed a transcendental logarithmic cost function to identify the key drivers of quality improvement and production costs. Key findings and conclusion. Study findings show that GlobalGAP quality improvements require more of all inputs, resulting in higher per hectare productions costs. Among the inputs, capital accounts for the largest share of increases in quality improvement and production costs, and these costs are more responsive to increased use of capital on small farms compared to larger small-scale farms. Fixed improvements account for nearly 80 percent of capital costs. Policy interventions aimed at encouraging smallholder adoption of GlobalGAP standards should therefore focus on lowering the cost of fixed improvements incurred by adopters. It is recommended that ways in which clusters of farmers can share on-farm infrastructure like storerooms for chemicals and equipment should be explored and supported by industry and government stakeholders.