Through a qualitative case study from the Northern Region of Ghana, this paper examines smallholders’ perceptions of environmental change and contemporary Green Revolution prescriptions promoted by foreign donors, NGOs and the state. These prescriptions seek to commercialise and intensify production in Ghana through increasing use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and faster-growing seed varieties. We argue that many smallholders are reluctantly adopting the inputs and techniques of the Green Revolution in response to erratic rainfall, shortened growing seasons, and drier soils with diminished fertility, as well as other structural constraints such as increasing competition for land. Farmers’ responses are also influenced by social inequalities, as gender and wealth differences affect access to agro-inputs and participation in farm contracts. Female farmers are especially disadvantaged in adoption, which is serving to widen disparities. However, even those farmers who are following the Green Revolution prescriptions are not uncritical of its impacts, as they commonly described their decision to adhere to this technical package as a short-term trade-off to meet subsistence needs at the expense of worsening soil health and increasing debt.

通过从加纳北部地区进行的定性案例研究，本文考察了小农户对环境变化的看法以及外国捐助者，非政府组织和国家提倡的当代绿色革命处方。这些处方旨在通过增加对化肥，农药和速生种子品种的使用来使加纳的商业化和集约化生产。我们认为，许多小农户不愿采用绿色革命的投入和技术来应对降雨的不稳定，生长季节缩短，土壤肥力降低以及其他结构性约束，例如对土地的竞争日益加剧。农民的反应也受到社会不平等的影响，因为性别和财富差异影响了获得农业投入物和参与农业合同的机会。女农民在收养方面尤其处于不利地位，这加剧了差距。但是，即使是那些遵循绿色革命规定的农民，对其影响也不是非议的，因为他们通常将他们决定坚持使用此技术包作为短期权衡取舍，以满足生计需求，但以恶化土壤健康为代价。并增加债务。