Agriculture
From The Report: Ghana 2020
View in Online Reader

Over the last decade the relative size of the agriculture sector in Ghana has more than halved, amounting to 15.3% of nominal GDP as of the second quarter of 2019, down from 31.8% in 2009. Nonetheless, the sector retains its strategic importance as a major employer, comprising 44.7% of the labour force. Varying estimates put the percentage of households owning or operating a farm at between 44.1% and 51.5%, amounting to approximately 7.3m individuals. Given agriculture’s crucial role in providing jobs for Ghana’s growing population, the government has embarked on significant modernisation efforts since 2017, chief among them the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative. This was followed in 2018 by the umbrella programme Investing for Food and Jobs, which is focused on agriculture, food security and rural development. his chapter also contains interviews with Kadri Alfah, CEO, Ghana Commodity Exchange; and Edmund Poku, Managing Director, Niche Cocoa.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Green dividend: Investment in irrigation, technology and training targets strategically important subsectors
OBG
plus

Over the last decade the relative size of the agriculture sector in Ghana, as measured by its contribution to overall economic output, has more than halved, amounting to 15.3% of nominal GDP as of the second quarter of 2019, down from 31.8% in 2009. Nonetheless, the sector retains its strategic importance as a major employer, comprising 44.7% of the labour force. Varying estimates put the percentage of households owning or operating a farm at between 44.1% and 51.5%, amounting to approximately…

Interview

Scaling up: Kadri Alfah, CEO, Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX), on lowering export barriers and boosting regional integration
OBG
plus

Interview:Kadri Alfah How can storage infrastructure be improved? KADRI ALFAH: Ghana is currently only able to meet 20% of its warehousing needs. Recognising this challenge, the government has created the One District, One Warehouse initiative to increase capacity. However, some districts require greater capacity than a single warehouse can provide, especially in key industrial areas. There is also demand for more grain silos, as this will further reduce post-harvest losses incurred through…

Analysis

Money trees: Non-cocoa tree crops offer revenue and diversification potential
OBG
plus

While cocoa remains the dominant source of agricultural export earnings, a number of other tree crops, including cashew, coffee, coconut, oil palm, mango, rubber and shea nut, have seen promising harvests over the past few years. In an effort to capitalise on this potential to diversify revenue, the administration of President Nana Akufo-Addo announced the Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD) programme in April 2019. Once the programme has been implemented and related value chains…

Overview

Making every drop count: Governments and the private sector tackle water scarcity through policy reform, technology adoption and infrastructure investment
OBG
plus

Global food demand is expected to increase by anywhere between 59% to 98% by 2050. However, global freshwater resources are already overstretched due to climate change and soaring population growth, and it is unclear how agricultural production will keep pace with these challenges. In recent years climate-induced water shortages in urban areas have brought water scarcity to the forefront of public debate, as major cities such as São Paulo, Cape Town and Barcelona have found themselves on the brink of major water crises. Responding to this, policymakers have started to scrutinise and reform existing agricultural practices, which on average…

Overview

Making every drop count: Governments and the private sector tackle water scarcity through policy reform, technology adoption and infrastructure investment
OBG
plus

Global food demand is expected to increase by anywhere between 59% to 98% by 2050. However, global freshwater resources are already overstretched due to climate change and soaring population growth, and it is unclear how agricultural production will keep pace with these challenges. In recent years climate-induced water shortages in urban areas have brought water scarcity to the forefront of public debate, as major cities such as São Paulo, Cape Town and Barcelona have found themselves on the brink of major water crises. Responding to this, policymakers have started to scrutinise and reform existing agricultural practices, which on average…

Interview

Sweet deal: Edmund Poku, Managing Director, Niche Cocoa, on the factors influencing local cocoa processing, farmer livelihoods and domestic chocolate consumption
OBG
plus

Interview:Edmund Poku How would you evaluate the current condition of the domestic cocoa market? EDMUND POKU: When we entered the cocoa processing market as a private domestic company in 2007 it was a budding industry, as only the government and some multinationals were processing cocoa locally. Ghana was processing about 15% of the cocoa harvested in the country and the rest was being exported, meaning there was a major opportunity for us to come in and add value. However, as it had never…