Farming practices vary from farmer to farmer and from place to place depending on a number of factors including the agroclimatic condition, infrastructure (e.g. irrigation facilities) and management mechanisms (private versus state management). These together affect the functioning and sustainability of the ecosystems. For the sustainability of ecosystems, farmers need to employ ecosystem-based farm practices. This paper examines the ecosystem-based farm management practices (EBFMPs) in private and state-managed irrigation schemes. It also analyses the drivers of farmers’ willingness to pay for EBFMPs sustainability. The study employed mixed methods design, using both qualitative and quantitative techniques of data collection through key informant interviews, focus group discussions and semi-structured questionnaires administered to 300 households. The various EBFMPs adopted by farmers were examined and descriptively presented. The Chi-square automatic interaction detector (CHAID) and multiple linear regression were used to assess the predictors of farmers’ willingness to pay for EBFMPs to enhance the health of agroecosystems. Compost application, conservative tilling, conservation of vegetation, mulching, crop rotation, intercropping with legumes, efficient drainage systems and bunding were the EBFMPs captured in this paper. Farmers in privately-managed irrigation schemes (PIS) more often apply EBFMPs compared with those in state-managed irrigation schemes (SIS). The paper also found that farmers’ willingness to pay to sustain EBFMPs for healthy ecosystems is significantly determined by the type of irrigation scheme they cultivate in (that is, PIS or SIS), their level of education, marital status and perception of soil fertility. Policy makers, implementers, and other stakeholders need to consider the capacity building of irrigation farmers, especially those in SIS in northern Ghana by educating them on agricultural production and ecosystem nexus to enhance the level of usage and willingness to pay for EBFMPs sustainability.

中文翻译：

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通过基于农场的生态友好做法，增强加纳北部健康的生态系统：灌溉计划类型的见解

耕作方法因农民而异，各地之间的差异取决于许多因素，包括农业气候条件，基础设施（例如灌溉设施）和管理机制（私有与州管理）。这些共同影响生态系统的功能和可持续性。为了生态系统的可持续性，农民需要采用基于生态系统的农场做法。本文研究了私人和国家管理的灌溉计划中基于生态系统的农场管理实践（EBFMP）。它还分析了农民愿意为EBFMP可持续性付费的驱动力。该研究采用了混合方法设计，通过定性和定量技术，通过对关键知情人进行访谈，焦点小组讨论和对300户家庭进行的半结构化问卷收集数据。对农民采用的各种EBFMP进行了检查和描述。使用卡方自动交互检测器（CHAID）和多元线性回归来评估农民为提高农业生态系统健康而愿意支付的EBFMP支付意愿的预测指标。堆肥的应用，保守的耕作，植被的保护，覆盖，作物轮作，豆科作物的间作，有效的排水系统和套扎是本文所捕获的EBFMP。与国家管理的灌溉计划（SIS）相比，采用私有管理的灌溉计划（PIS）的农民更经常采用EBFMP。该论文还发现，农民为维持健康生态系统而为维持EBFMP付出的意愿很大程度上取决于他们所采用的灌溉计划类型（即PIS或SIS），他们的教育水平，婚姻状况和对土壤肥力的认识。决策者，实施者和其他利益相关者需要考虑灌溉农民的能力建设，尤其是加纳北部SIS的灌溉农民的能力建设，方法是对他们进行农业生产和生态系统联系教育，以提高其使用水平和为EBFMP可持续性付出的意愿。