Lecture 7 : The Development of Agriculture in

Ghana.

Solomon Antwiagyei Kuffour

Department of Human Resource and General Studies

UCOMS, Kumasi Campus.

sakuffour@ucoms.edu.gh

July 25, 2021

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Outline of Lecture

Brief History of Agricultural Development in Ghana

The current state of agriculture in Ghana

The nature and structure of Agriculture in Ghana

The role of agriculture in the Ghanaian sector

The challenges of the Ghanaian agricultural sector

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Introduction

Agriculture is, and remains one of the most important sectors of every
economy especially Developing Economies.

Despite the food it provides, it also offers employment and income - on a

formal and informal basis to the citizens of a country.

At the national level, it contributes greatly to GDP, government revenue

and foreign exchange from its exports.

Hence, it is worth studying the agricultural sector when studying the

economy of every country.
I Ghana and its agricultural sector in Ghana is no exception.
The sector continues to be one of the backbones of the economy and has
gone through several phases.
I Hence to understand and appreciate current situation, it is worthwhile to
study its development over time.

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Introduction Cont’d...
The Current State of Agriculture in Ghana

What idea do you have of current happenings in the Agricultural sector in

Ghana regarding:
Ongoing Policies or Programmes in;
I Farming
I Fishing Livestock rearing
I Forestry Buscar el de
I Import and Exports. Guinea
Challenges

Any other information.

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The History of Agriculture Development in Ghana
Introduction

There have been many changes in agricultural development in Ghana

from independence until now.

This is due to changes in government and in macroeconomic conditions

within the country.
Most of these policies sought to increase productivity and improve the
performance of the sector;
I but the sector is still faced with challenges that cripple the sustained
successes of these policies.

Let us begin to consider some of these policies and developments from the
period before independence till date.

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The History of Agriculture Development in Ghana
Pre-Independence Agricultural Development

Given the fall in demand for palm oil(in the palm era), new plants and
crops (sisal plants and coconuts) were introduced for export in 1920 to
1927.

The Agricultural Development Corporation(ADC) was set in 1949 to

engage in large scale farming and out of this
I The Gonja Settlement and Development Scheme and Gonja Development
in the northern region in 1950.

But this did not meet expectations because of;

I Poor infrastructure mostly, roads and irrigation facilities.
I Lack of or insufficient local officers to take over from the whites after
independence hence the reduction in their efficiency and collapse.

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The History of Agriculture Development in Ghana
Post-Independence Agricultural Development: 1957 - 1966

The Agricultural policy of the development plan sought to turn

agriculture into ”a highly efficient and productive occupation” by
I increasing output in the cocoa sector, cultivating banana and rubber in a
large scale,
I researching into the use of fertilizers for its widespread adoption,
I irrigating the Volta Plains for farming all year round farming.

Major policies sought to;

I To build a chain of processing and storage facilities throughout the country
to support ADC’s food production.
I Expand production and export of banana and exports.
ADC was liquidated in 1962 because;
I No feasibility studies were conducted before projects were set up.
I Inadequately skilled personnel and paying workers more than their
productivity (Workers’ Brigade and Young Farmers League).

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The History of Agriculture Development in Ghana
Post-Independence Agricultural Development: 1966 - 1972

Period of mechanized farming through the State Farm Corporation; SFC

was set up to replace the ADC.
I By 1966, it had 105 state farm projects with 22,000 workers.

SFC’s mechanization was impeded by:

I Costly and slowly moving mechanization process; Inadequate supply of
spare parts for the machines used
I Reliance on wage and unskilled labour (mostly from the cities).
Period saw the establishment of farmers’ cooperatives to modernize food
production and reduce food import bill.
I Food import was high hence government ordered the United Ghana
Farmers Cooperative Council(UGFCC) to organize farmers into
cooperatives to increase food and raw materials production.

Challenges included;
I Cooperative (farm) leaders had low knowledge of best modern farming
practices hence could not teach members.
I UGFCC was controlled by party faithfuls and hence inequalities in sharing
earnings
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The History of Agriculture Development in Ghana
Post-Independence Agricultural Development: 1972 - 1979

In February 1972, the ”Operation Feed Yourself” & ”Operation Feed Your
Industry” were launched.
I 1972-74 was declared the ”Agricultural Years.”

Main Goal: Achieve Immediate Self-Sufficiency and Self-Reliance

in the production of food supplies and industrial raw materials.
Major Policies:
I The formation of a single product development board for cotton, fabric,
grains, cattle and meat.
F To offer advice, incentives and oversee production of agro-raw materials in
newly establised industries.
I Government instituted minimum guaranteed price schemes for certain
crops to protect farmers from income loses.
I Massive rural infrastructural development schemes to reduce rural-urban
drift.
Major Challenges: Adopting a wrong strategy (increasing farm lands
rather than improving marketing, distribution and farm input supply),
Poor Implementation, Political Instability, etc.
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The History of Agriculture Development in Ghana
Post-Independence Agricultural Development: 1979 - 1981

On 14th May, 1980, the Republic of Ghana Action Programme for

Agriculture Production was launched to;
I Eliminate food deficit and raise nutritional levels of Ghanaians,
I Embark on a comprehensive rural development programme to raise rural
incomes,
I Increase agricultural raw materials production to feed local industries and
exports.

Main Strategies:
I To provide appropriate incentives
I set out and pay guaranteed prices for crops like maize
Challenges:
I Over ambition in projections
I Lower resources (government budget) committed; less than 10%.
I Over taxation without corresponding expenditure on the cocoa sector

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The History of Agriculture Development in Ghana
Post-Independence Agricultural Development: 1983 - 1986, the ERP and SAP Period

Ghana suffers from severe drought, famine and economic decline in 1983
hence goes to World Bank and IMF for ERP and SAP .
ERP and SAP agricultural policies sought to curb further economic
decline and revive the economy by;
I increase food production as well as some raw materials and export crops.
I rehabilitate and replant cocoa tress destroyed by the bush fire
I privatizing fertilizer distribution by Ghana National Procurement Agency
(GNPA) and Farmers’ Services Companies(FASCOM).

Major policies or strategies included;

I Agricultural Service Rehabilitation Programme (ASRP) was set up to
reconstruct agricultural services with the aid of the World Bank.
I A rural agric finance scheme was set uo to meet credit needs of farmers to
help them expand production and provide finamce for viable projects to
increase employment.

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The History of Agriculture Development in Ghana
Post-Independence Agricultural Development: 1986 - 2000

Focus of agricultural development from 1990 to 2000 was packaged in the

Medium Term Agricultural Development Programme(MTADP) .

MTADP proposed a shift of focus to (1) incentives for agro production,

trade and processing and (2) and increase in private participation in
agriculture marketing and (3) strenghing agricultural research and
extension services.
Policies enacted:
I Department of Agric Extension Service was created
I Procurement of farm inputs by MoFA and COCOBOD were privatized to
enhance competition and efficiency.
Successes included:
I An increase in cocoa bean production and export from 195,24 in 1986 to
243,040 metric tonnes in 1991.
I The Village Infrastructure Project(VIP) was launched to provide basic
infrastructure to improve quality of life in rural areas.

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The History of Agriculture Development in Ghana
Post-Independence Agricultural Development: Post 2000

Following the outline used to discuss earlier developments, read and

find the appropriate information under this period for discussion
some day to come.
Pay attention to the other sub-sectors of agriculture; livestock,
fishing to be specific

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The nature and structure of the agriculture sector
The Ecological Zones and Crops Cultivated

Out of a total land area of 23.9 million hectares, 13 million ha (57%) are
classified as ”agricultural land area”. (SRID, 2001)

The agricultural land is grouped into six agro-ecological zones;

I Farming systems and crops cultivated vary across agro-ecological zones
(due to weather, soil and other environmental conditions )
1 Sudan Savannah –
2 Guinea Savannah –
3 Forest/Savannah transitional zone – Cotton, Cereals and grains and
livestock
4 Coastal Savannah – Cassava, maize and vegetables
5 Deciduous Forest zone –
6 Rain Forest zone – Cash crops, maize, legumes, tubers

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The nature and structure of the agriculture sector
The Ecological Map (Zones) of Ghana

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The nature and structure of the agriculture sector
The Ecological Zones and Crops Cultivated

Agro-Ecological Zones in Ghana

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The nature and structure of the agriculture sector
Sub Sectors of Agriculture in Ghana

The Agricultural sector consists of five main sub sectors:

1 Food Crops: Cereals and Starchy Crops
2 Livestock: Cattle, Sheep, Goats, Pigs, Poultry
3 Fisheries: Marine, Inland and Aquaculture
4 Forestry and logging:
5 Cocoa
I Remains the key driver of sector growth.
I Cocoa accounts for about 7 percent of the country’s GDP and 20-25
percent of total export earnings.
I Ghana is the second most important producer and exporter of cocoa in the
world, accounting for about 20-25 % of total world supply.

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Characteristics of Agriculture in Ghana

Continuous over-reliance on rainfall despite improvements in irrigational

facilities.
Lower levels of improved technology;
I farm inputs – improved varieties of fertilizers, pesticides and seeds
I low mechanized farming – use of tractors

Predominant use of traditional(obsolete) farming and fishing methods;

I Depending on natural methods for land preparation(burning of vegetation).
I Usage of chemicals, light and mosquito nets

Ghana’s agricultural sector is characterized by low yields for both staple

and cash crops. For e.g,
I Cereal yields are estimated at 1.7t/ha compared to the regional average of
2.0 t/ha and with potential yields in excess of 5.0t/ha (World Development
Indicators, WDI, 2016).
I Average cocoa yield in Ghana, estimated at 400 – 450 kg/ha, is among the
lowest in the world (Ghana COCOBOD, 2015).

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Characteristics of Agriculture in Ghana Cont’d...

Widespread of small-scale farming accounting for relatively lower outputs.

I Small-size and medium-size farms of up to 10.0 hectares account for 95 %

of the cultivated land (SRID, 2001)
I Ghana is a net importer of basic foods (raw and processed) including rice,
tomatoes, poultry, sugar, and vegetable oils.
I The annual food import bill now exceeds the estimated annual $2 billion
earned from cocoa exports.
F Population growth, high rates of urbanization, and increasing incomes are
driving the import bill as they lead to increased demand for more quality
and safe foodstuffs such as meat, dairy, and horticulture (fruits &
vegetables).
F In 2015, food imports accounted for 16.8 percent of total merchandise
imports estimated at US$ 13.3 billion,and
F The food import bill is projected to increase fourfold over the next 20 years,
unless local production is substantially increased.

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The Role of the Agriculture Sector in Ghana
Contributes greatly to GDP despite the decline in its contribution
over-time – accounts for one-fifth of Ghana’s (GDP)

Provides the economy with foreign exchange earnings from the export of
agro-products.

Contributes significantly to government revenue: from the duties paid on

the exports of agricultural commodities.
Offers employment to a number of people in all the agric chain (farming
and all other related agro-activities.)
I employs nearly half of the workforce and
I is the main source of livelihood for the majority of the country’s poorest
households and their dependents. (Aiding Poverty Reduction)

Supplies
I food to the entire population and
I raw materials to the local industries to boost production, including
Pharmaceutical and Herbal Firms.
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The Role of the Agriculture Sector in Ghana
Contribution of Agriculture to Ghana’s GDP

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (% of GDP)

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The Role of the Agriculture Sector in Ghana
Contribution of Agriculture to Ghana’s GDP

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The Challenges of the Agriculture Sector in Ghana

Low Public Expenditure and Efficiency on the sector;

I Ghana’s public expenditure on agriculture has been declining
I A recent public expenditure review of the agricultural sector by the World
Bank estimates that spending on agriculture averaged about 5 percent of
total spending between 2001 and 2014; while also declining as a percent of
total GDP since 2011.
I Ghana’s public expenditure on agriculture is among the lowest in Africa,
and considerably below the Comprehensive African Agriculture
Development Program (CAADP) commitment of 10 percent (FAO, 2016)
I About two-thirds of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) budget
is allocated for operational costs(mostly salaries and input subsidies), with
Development Partners (DPs) funding more than 70 percent of investment
expenditures.
F This crowds-out expenditure on critical public goods such as access
infrastructure, irrigation, research and development (R&D), and extension
services, among others.

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The Challenges of the Agriculture Sector in Ghana
Cont’d...
Poor provision of agricultural services at the District levels;
I Although Ghana has implemented its decentralization policy,
administrative and fiscal decentralization is poor, particularly for key
sectors such as agriculture whose functions and services are needed most at
the local level.
I Hence provision of agricultural extension and other services remains poor
mainly due to low capacity and limited and untimely provision of public
funding.
The collection and analysis of agricultural data/statistics is still weak and
this undermines proper development planning in the sector ( no
comprehensive agricultural census for the past 32 years)
I MoFA relies on Annual Crop and Livestock Surveys conducted at the
district level by agricultural extension officers to obtain annual production
data.
I Due to the limited public funding and other constraints affecting the
capacity of public officials,the quality data of the is often challenged.

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The Challenges of the Agriculture Sector in Ghana
Cont’d...

Agricultural R&D, which is a key driver of productivity growth is

inadequately funded and coordinated.
I In Ghana, spending on agricultural R&D amounts to about 0.7% of
agricultural output (excluding cocoa)
I This is above the Sub-Saharan Africa average of 0.5%, but below the rates
of regional leaders such as Kenya (1.4%) and South Africa (2%)
I Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) manages agriculture
research in Ghana;
F It is estimated that less than 4% of the budget annually allocated to CSIR
is used to finance new operations.
F As a result, researchers are almost fully dependent on donor funding which
is also limited.

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The Challenges of the Agriculture Sector in Ghana
Cont’d...
Impact of Climate Change;
I Ghana’s agriculture is vulnerable to the threat of climate change
I Approximately 70% of the population directly or indirectly depends on
agriculture and forestry.
I The agricultural sector’s vulnerability to climate change effects threatens
the food security and livelihoods of the majority who depend on the sector.

I According to a report by the World Bank,

F climate change is expected to adversely affect the stability of Ghana’s
agricultural sector with the country’s millions of smallholder farmers
particularly vulnerable.
F The report also highlight that climate change is projected to accentuate the
rise in food prices in the future.
F Northern Ghana is more vulnerable to increased volatility in weather
patterns caused by climate change than the rest of the country because it is
poorer, drier and more heavily dependent on subsistence agriculture

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The Challenges of the Agriculture Sector in Ghana
Cont’d...

High post harvest loses due to inadequate mass storage facilities.

Inadequate or poor access to finance/ credit facilities.

Poor infrastructural development in the farming areas as well as

surrounding areas especially roads and irrigation.

Low levels of literacy of majority of the farmers hence their inability to

adopt improved or modern

Inadequate extension services to educate the farmers on the technical

knowledge on best farming practices as well as new and improved
varieties of seeds and breeds.

Complicated land tenure arrangements making it difficult to obtain large

acreages of land for commercial farming.

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Prospects of Agriculture in Ghana

Ghana has significant agricultural potential, particularly in the semi-arid

Northern Savannah (agro-)Ecological Zone (NSEZ), including the Afram
Plains.
I The NSEZ covers over 40 percent of the country’s total surface area, and
has about six million hectares of arable land with great potential for
commercial production of cereals, sugarcane, cassava, cotton, cashew, shea
and livestock.

Has the potential to become the 3rd engine of growth. See

Agriculture: Ghana’s Engine of Growth for Jobs Creation

Information Technology Services and application like farmerline, mFarmer

are expected to increase.

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 End of Lecture.

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In the Next Lecture...

To be considered...

The Development of the Industrial Sector in Ghana

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 All the best and See you in the next Lecture.

Thank you

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