Agriculture In Ghana Case Study

Background study

Agriculture in Ghana consists of a variety of agricultural products and it serves as the main economic activity of the Ghanaian population. Out of Ghana’s total land area of 23,884,245 hectares, 14,038,224 hectares constituting 58% is suitable for agriculture but the total area under cultivation in 2012 was 7,847,300 hectares (55.9%) of the agricultural area (MoFA, 2013). In 2010, agriculture’s contribution to total employment was estimated to be 42% and with a GDP of 30.2% but decline to 22.7% in 2012. Agriculture over the years was the largest employer, accounting for over 50% of the total workforce but the services sector has now dislodged the agriculture sector as the largest employer in Ghana with a share of 43%. Ghana has developed

Earnings from fresh edible fruits in 2006 was US$144m but dropped to about US$23m in 2010, mainly due to the Ghanaian pineapple losing substantial market share against Costa Rica suppliers to Europe (Abdallah, 2012). Pineapple, mango and papayas lead the fruit exports. These “non – traditional” exports make a notable contribution to the economy of Ghana in terms of employment, fiscal revenues and foreign exchange. As a result, policy makers and development partners have looked to support horticulture exports as a diversification means of the export base and opportunity to improve rural livelihood (Abdallah, 2012). World Bank and MoFA (1991) commissioned a short study of the sector in order to assess the opportunities, identify constraints and suggest strategies and infrastructural improvements to take fresh produce export forward. A similar exercise was conducted in 2003 as part of the restructuring of the World Bank – funded agricultural services sub – sector investment programme (AgSSIP) with MoFA. Since 2003, the horticulture export section in Ghana has lost market to competing countries. Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is native to the East Indies but was brought to West Africa in the 16th century