Production Gaps Among Farmers With Disabilities Are Associated With Limited Technology

ABSTRACT In sub‐Saharan Africa, agriculture is vital; however, the systematic exclusion of persons with disabilities from farming hinders sustainable development and social equity. Although several studies have analyzed productivity differentials across various dimensions of social exclusion, empirical evidence on technology access, farming efficiency, and productivity gaps among farmers with disabilities remains limited. This study addresses this gap by evaluating disparities in crop production between farmers with and without disabilities in Ghana, with a particular focus on differences in technology endowment and production efficiency. Utilizing the meta‐stochastic frontier analysis coupled with statistical matching techniques on nationally representative farm‐level data from the 2012/13 and 2016/17 agricultural seasons, we find negligible differences in technical efficiency between the two groups (less than 0.5%). However, the productive capacity of the technology sets employed by farmers with disabilities is approximately 11%‐point lower than that of their counterparts without disability, resulting in a 9.5%‐point shortfall in crop production. This production shortfall is primarily driven by reduced per‐hectare use of critical inputs such as planting materials, labor, fertilizer, and agro‐chemicals. These findings highlight a significant disability‐associated technology access gap that reflects broader structural inequalities. Addressing these disparities is essential for promoting equitable agricultural development while harnessing the full potential of all farmers in Ghana.