Agriculture
From The Report: Ghana 2014
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As the foundation of Ghana’s economy, agriculture employs more than half of the population and is a key focus for the country’s inclusive economic development agenda. Ghana has 13.6m ha of agricultural land, and cocoa and maize account for the largest areas planted, with 1.6m ha and 1m ha, respectively. Yet as the industrial and services sectors have strengthened in recent years, agriculture’s contribution to overall GDP has steadily declined, falling from 32% in 2009 to 22% in 2013. Moreover, the sector remains underdeveloped, with the majority of rural farmers (accounting for some 90% of all farming employment) lacking the proper techniques, inputs, financing and infrastructure, such as transport networks and irrigation and storage systems. New policy reforms, however, such as seed variation control and biosafety regulations, aim to both enhance yield quality and reduce waste.

This chapter contains an interview with Anthony Pile, Founder and CEO, Blue Skies.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

A state-backed modernisation drive has the potential to reinvigorate a key sector
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As the foundation of Ghana’s economy, agriculture employs more than half of the population and is a key focus for the country’s inclusive economic development agenda. Yet as the industrial and services sectors have strengthened in recent years, agriculture’s contribution to overall GDP has steadily declined, falling from 32% in 2009 to 22% in 2013. The government’s priority for the sector is industrialisation, which would allow Ghana to simultaneously empower farmers, generate new industry…

Analysis

Much-needed improvements in recordkeeping are on the way
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While there is plenty of fertile land available for agriculture in Ghana – an estimated 6.1m ha of its 13.6m ha of agricultural land is not cultivated at present – land acquisition remains a challenging process. As stipulated in Ghana’s constitution, a variety of customary tenure systems run by chiefs govern land use in the country. Around 80% of all land falls under these frameworks, designating the chiefs as the key stakeholders regarding ownership, distribution and dispute resolution. Of…

Analysis

The crop is a leading contributor to the national economy
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As the world’s second-largest producer of cocoa – behind only its neighbour Côte d’Ivoire – Ghana’s agricultural output and overall economy are dependent on production of the crop, which represents 57% of the sector’s export earnings and over 20% of total export earnings, and employs more than 800,000 farmers. Adding Value Cocoa exports are sent mainly to Europe, but growing demand in Asia has led the government to refocus its strategy. Following the 2012/13 season, 19.9% of cocoa…

Analysis

Palm d’or: The region is returning to the fore as a palm oil producer
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The palm oil industry is coming full circle in West Africa. The commodity was first produced in the region as early as the 16th century and commercial trade began in 1820. In the mid-19th century traders transported planting materials from Ghana to Asia, where the climate proved highly conducive for growth. The industry boomed in this new location, leaving Africa behind. Now, West Africa is considered the new frontier for palm oil production. Though Malaysia and Indonesia still dominate the world…

Interview

OBG talks to Anthony Pile, Founder and CEO, Blue Skies
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Interview:Anthony Pile How do Ghana’s fiscal and currency challenges impact the outlook for agricultural producers? ANTHONY PILE: The changing fortunes of the currency against hard currencies aren’t necessarily a bad thing. For example, during the period when the currency was being managed against the dollar, it suited importers as it made imported materials artificially cheaper. However, this also caused people to think twice about whether these materials could be produced in Ghana.…