Socioeconomic drivers of soil security awareness and perceived importance in Ghanaian smallholder agriculture

Abstract Soil security underpins sustainable agriculture and land restoration in sub-Saharan Africa, yet empirical evidence on what shapes farmers’ understanding of it remains limited. This study investigates the socioeconomic and institutional factors influencing soil-security awareness and perceived importance among 667 smallholder farmers in Ghana. It represents the first empirical application of the McBratney five-dimension framework to analyze farmers’ cognitive understanding of soil security in Africa. Using hierarchical logistic regression, linear regression, and structural-equation modeling, we examined the effects of education, agricultural-extension access, regional location, and workshop participation. Results show that 63% of farmers were aware of soil security, rating its importance highly at 4.01 out of 5 (SD = 1.14). Education emerged as the most powerful factor, substantially increasing both the likelihood of awareness (OR = 2.95, 95% CI [1.82, 4.93]) and importance ratings (β = 0.66, 95% CI [0.45, 0.86]), likely reflecting enhanced information access and cognitive framing. Access to extension services and workshop attendance also significantly improved awareness, underscoring their policy relevance. Mediation analysis indicated that extension contact accounted for approximately 4% of education’s total effect on awareness. Regional disparities were notable: farmers in the Northeast region had 75% lower odds of awareness than those in Ashanti, possibly reflecting infrastructural and institutional limitations. Awareness concentrated on practical dimensions such as Condition (37.9%) and Capital (29.7%), while institutional (Codification 4.6%) and ecological (Capability 3.1%) aspects were least recognized. Policies combining education with participatory extension and training can strengthen soil-security stewardship among Ghanaian smallholders.