SQUEEZED FROM BOTH ENDS: SMALLHOLDER MAIZE FARMERS BETWEEN PRODUCER AND CONSUMER PRICE TRENDS. A CASE STUDY IN WORAWORA, VOLTA REGION, GHANA.

Smallholder agriculture remains the best and, perhaps, the only livelihood option available to the poorest of the world's poor. Agricultural markets are characterized by price volatility and today's globalized economic system means that maize prices increases on the world market ought to have implications for the incomes of smallholder maize farmers This is, however, not always the case. Also relevant is the cost of consumer goods and services that smallholder maize farmers spend their meagre incomes on. This study looked at a comparison between the local producer price of maize and that of consumer goods that smallholders farming households usually need. It also assesses the implications of these price trends on the real incomes and, by extension, living standards of the smallholders as well as the adaptation strategies they employ. The qualitative research methodology was employed to investigate the above dynamics using the value chain approach and the concept of poverty trap. I find that the maize value chain in operation at Worawora is buyer-driven and smallholder maize farmers are primarily price-takers. I also find that producer prices of maize at the local level show a high degree of variability both within and between seasons, yet they do not seem to follow global price trends. This relatively poor price transmission on the Income side of the livelihood of smallholders is not replicated on the expenditure side. I find that prices of consumer goods at the local level are generally higher than in central markets and that smallholder maize farmers whose main source of income is maize farming are being squeezed from both ends by virtue of diminishing incomes and escalating expenditures. Not only are they cutting down on consumption as a consequence, but they are also selling off assets that took several years to accumulate, thereby, trapping themselves in poverty. The findings have implications not just for the livelihoods of the smallholders and their agency, but also for the food security of Ghana. This study is, therefore, of the view that, a maize value chain that is producer-driven will significantly boost the incomes and livelihoods of the smallholder maize farmers