Disaggregated impacts of off-farm work participation on household vulnerability to food poverty in Ghana.

Abstract

This study examines disaggregated impacts of participation in off-farm employment on household vulnerability to food poverty in Ghana. We use household-level data collected from smallholder farmers in Ghana. This study employs the multinomial endogenous switching regression model to account for selection bias due to both observed and unobserved heterogeneity. Our results indicate that participation in off-farm employment activities, such as petty trading, significantly decreases household vulnerability to food poverty. Our findings further show that households that do participate in arts and crafts as an off-farm activity are more vulnerable to food poverty had they not participated. This paper provides useful policy insights to enable smallholders involved in off-farm work activities to improve food consumption expenditure and reduce their risk of food poverty.