AGRICULTURE FOR DEVELOPMENT; THE CASE OF GHANA
With a country that is blessed with every natural resource that any person can possibly think about; both natural and human resources, it comes with great shock that Ghana is wallowing in the quagmire of poverty. Contrary to figures in books supporting annual growth and progress, there is a growing concern of poverty, inequality and youthful unemployment. It might as well reflect the case of some outliers like the recent oil exploration which might be influencing these figures. In fact, Ghana has no reason to be poor as recently reiterated by Mr. Henry Kirali, World Bank Country Director for Ghana.
The sector remains in the realm of the “Guggisberg economy” of the 1940s where Ghana was a primary exporter of raw materials to their colonial master, the UK. The sector is begging for a radical paradigm shift from hand-to-mouth agriculture practice to commercial farming and value addition.
Agriculture remains the backbone of the Ghanaian economy. It employs about 55% of the labor force in Ghana, about 10% lower that the continent’s average of 65%. About 95% of farmers in Ghana are largely subsistent, leave within the poverty brackets and inhabit the rural areas. This makes the agriculture sector an important sector that any government head burnt on alleviating poverty, must treat as a priority.
Some of the interventionist policies introduced by various governments’ proved productive for a period until it degenerated into scam avenues where hungry politicians and bureaucrats sought to rape the coffers of the tax payer. The Savanna Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), Cocoa Mass Spraying Exercise, and the Fertilizer Distribution Exercise are few examples among others.
Post harvest losses is a recurrent cycle for most farmers. This is due to gamut of factors; the absence of ready markets for their produce, the absence of goods roads that connect farms to major markets, exploitation by buyers and the low level of industrialization of Ghana are but some of the factors. This has served as a great disincentive for the growing unemployed youthful population to move into agriculture, further painting a blurred future of the sector in future.
In 2013, the African continent spent about US$94billion on the importation of food from around the world, of which Ghana was an active participant. The paradox is that, the aggregated budget of the continent on agriculture for the 53 countries in Africa is not up to 50% of the amount spend on importing food. $94 billion is enough money to revolutionize the agriculture sector and transform the lives of the millions of peasant farmers in rural Africa. This is a classic case of misplaced priority. Ghana spent a total of about $2.4 billion importing food in 2015, the very produce that rot in the farms during seasonal periods (maize, onions, tomato, pepper, plantain, etc.). The pathetic issue is that the total budget allocation to the agriculture sector in Ghana for the 2015 budget year was just $230million, not up to half the amount spent on food imports.
It will be necessary for leaders and various governments to approach the situation of the agriculture sector with tac. It holds the key to Ghana’s industrialization, has the capacity to employ the teaming youthful unemployed, reduce poverty (a major benchmark in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals) and make Ghana self-food sufficient. The government can put in deliberate policies aimed at making the sector attractive and productive.
Road infrastructure that lead to these respective farming communities must be improved to make them accessible and also provide sustainable irrigation systems to guarantee farming all year around. This will serve two major purposes; to grant access to the major markets and to grant access to the farming communities by buying. This will throw the market into the hands of demand and supply forces to set the prices and at least give the farmers the chance to sell what they produce.
Another major intervention will be to guarantee a ready market for all produce through the National Buffer Stock Program and set prices ceilings for respective produce below which farm produce will not be sold. The national buffer stock program should focus on storing enough staple food that are primary to the daily lives and meals of the people.
Value addition is key. The District Industrialization Program should be revisited. The purpose of this program will be to add value to the agriculture produce for exports and for preservation for use during lean seasons. These factories will be another vehicle for guaranteeing prices for farmers.
With prudent investment plans and strategies, backed by real political commitment, the agriculture sector can help left Ghana from its current economic woes.