Agriculture
From The Report: Ghana 2024
View in Online Reader

In addition to being a major source of foreign exchange, the agriculture sector accounts for a significant portion of the country’s employment, as an estimated 75% of the rural population worked in the sector as of February 2023. Agriculture is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 2.7% through to 2028, reaching an annual value of $3.8bn. Modern farming techniques are expected to play a key role in the sector’s development, such as through the deployment of drones to monitor crops and identify pest infestations. While cocoa is the country’s most notable crop export and the sector’s largest revenue-earning product, there is potential to increase export of shea butter, cashew nuts, fruits and vegetables, and livestock.

This chapter contains an interview with Muhammadu Muzzammil, Country Director, ECOM Agrotrade.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Growth mindset: Innovative farming methods are widening the sector’s GDP share
OBG
plus

Agriculture is a major driver of economic growth in Ghana, as well as an important source of foreign exchange. In 2021 the amount of arable land was estimated at 20.7% of the country’s 238,500 sq km. That same year roughly 39.5% of Ghana’s workforce was employed in the agriculture sector, while the African Development Bank (AfDB) approximated in a February 2023 report that the sector employed roughly 75% of the country’s rural population. In recent years the government has undertaken a number…

Interview

Grassroots growth: Muhammadu Muzzammil, Country Director, ECOM Agrotrade, on strategies to boost sector health and sustainability
OBG
plus

Interview:Muhammadu Muzzammil Which reforms can help Ghana develop its agriculture value chain to stimulate economic growth? MUHAMMADUMUZZAMMIL: While the country boasts favourable conditions, the current import-dependent status of various crops has limited the role of the private sector in the agriculture value chain. Meanwhile, farmers are unable to provide sufficient quantities of products to satisfy demand, due in part to a lack of improved seed types and inadequate post-harvest…

Analysis

Food for thought: Higher farmgate prices and new processing facilities are expected to boost domestic production and increase exports
OBG
plus

Ghana is the second-largest cocoa producer in the world after Côte d’Ivoire, accounting for a global market share of 20%. The crop, which grows primarily in the Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Eastern, Western, Western North and Western South regions, is cultivated by families, communities and cooperatives. The cocoa grown in Ghana is mostly processed for export, as the local market for finished cocoa products is relatively limited. Nestlé Ghana, Cargill and Unilever Ghana are the primary suppliers of…

Analysis

Riding the wave: Countries are starting to seriously consider aquaculture as a viable avenue for ensuring food security
OBG
plus

With per capita fish consumption having doubled in the past six decades, aquaculture is becoming increasingly important when it comes to combatting food insecurity. Recent innovations seek to improve sustainability and productivity while assuaging quality concerns. Venture capitalists invested $39bn in food tech start-ups in 2021, double the amount seen in 2020. While over half of this amount went to digital grocers and online marketplaces, a number of companies developing innovative aquaculture…

Analysis

Sustainable production: Regenerative farming practices can help mitigate climate change while creating jobs and providing new revenue sources
OBG
plus

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions and broader environmental concerns, many countries are looking to improve the efficiency of agriculture while reducing their carbon footprint. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which curtailed exports of maize, wheat and cooking oil from two of the world’s key producers, has given this more impetus and raised broader concerns about global food security. While many countries have moved to shore up supply chains and improve agreements with…