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Article History

Received: 15 April 2025

Accepted: 13 February 2026

First Online: 27 February 2026

Competing interests

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: This study involved the collection of anonymized, non-sensitive survey data from smallholder farmers in northern Ghana between January and March 2023. Aligned with the research ethics guidelines of the University for Development Studies (UDS)—the local counterpart institution responsible for the field survey—formal ethical clearance was primarily mandated for biomedical or clinical interventions involving human subjects. As this study was a non-interventional socioeconomic survey involving no physical risks or collection of personally identifiable information (PII), it fell outside the scope of mandatory pre-survey ethical certification under these local governance frameworks. Nevertheless, the research was conducted in strict accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki (Article 23, paragraph 3), ensuring respect for participants’ autonomy, privacy, and well-being. To independently validate the study’s adherence to these international ethical standards, the research protocol was submitted to the newly established Research Ethics Committee of JIRCAS (operational as of October 2024). The committee reviewed the study’s methodology and granted formal approval (Approval No. 24121013) on 17 December 2024, confirming that the research had been executed in full compliance with global ethical benchmarks.

: This survey was conducted from January to March 2023. Participants were informed about the voluntary nature of participation and completed the questionnaire anonymously. Before answering the questionnaire, each participant read a cover page explaining the aim and importance of this study and was informed of their right to withdraw at any time.