Has Ghana a vibrant agricultural sector?

AGRICULTURE has been the most dominant sector of the Ghanaian economy since her independence, having dramatic effects on the country’s statistical figures especially that of inflation. Studies have indeed shown that, the years in which Ghana had low year-on-year inflation are actually those that immediately follow a year of bumper harvest usually driven by favorable rainfall patterns. If the Ghanaian spends about 60% of his income on food alone, then one cannot refute the fact that, sufficient and cheap food will help reduce the general cost of living substantially. Research has also proven that, shortages in agricultural production due to fluctuations in rainfall pattern are a prominent cause of inflation in Ghana, among notable causes such as excessive monetary expansion.

The importance of the Agricultural sector and for that matter the Ghanaian farmer, can be measured by its contribution to the key macroeconomic indicators of the economy. From 1980 to 1990, the sector’s contribution to total Gross Domestic Product was between 45%-60%. Presently, it employs about 50% of the total active working population.

Despite its significant contribution, the sector has a lot to improve. Ghana still imports large quantities of rice and maize to feed its growing population. It beats my imagination to see Ghana enjoy cheap food prices during bumper seasons only to struggle to afford exorbitant prices during the lean seasons. A crate of tomatoes which costs as low as 35,000 cedis during the main harvest season along the Anlo-Keta coastal stretch, “Ada-Sogakope plains” and in Kpetoe near Ho, costs over 90,000 just three months away into the lean season. You must be extremely fortunate to buy the same crate of tomatoes at a less than one million cedis after the fourth month into the lean season. Various arguments have been attributed to the poor performance of the agriculture sector-some blaming the poor Ghanaian farmer as inefficient and others accusing governments of inadequate assistance while others still over emphasize the reliance on the rainfall pattern for production. The growth of agriculture in the country is nothing to boast of , though there have been recent improvements. While the growth rate reached 5.1% in 1998, it gradually declined to 2.1% in 2000. The Year 2002 saw a 4.4% growth against a 4.0% for 2001. For how long will Ghana remain food insecure?

Capital

It must be unrealistic on the part of anybody to argue that the Ghanaian farmer has access to adequate capital to undertake efficient farming, crop or animal wise. This has many dimensions. On one hand, the farmer took to agriculture probably because he is poor and has no other source of livelihood. Maybe, his principal aim therefore is to produce on subsistence scale to feed his family. One pathetic side of the issue is that, because about 60% of farming is concentrated in the rural areas where liquidity in terms of money is a hurdle, it is necessarily difficult for him to raise adequate funds from friends and family members for farming. Well, maybe to him, he does not even need a lot of money to farm as all he needs is a family land, a cutlass, a hoe and seed without thinking about the use of fertilizers and irrigation. How can such a farmer producing on a small scale with outmoded knowledge on farming be given a loan by a financial intermediary?

On the other hand, a renowned farmer producing on large scale basis, craving for funds in order to expand and add value to his produce, ends up frustrated woefully due to the unavailability of financial intermediation. Surprisingly enough, where there is an intermediary, either the usury or the over bureaucratic measures he must surmount deter him from access to needed capital. The financial intermediaries in the country can do better than they are doing. The government must also do everything possible to create an enabling environment for the development of a vibrant financial sector. Once the financial sector becomes more vibrant and competitive, the ability to give credit to the agric sector at affordable rates will also increase.

Technology

One big problem about the African is that, his desire for change is nothing close to strong. “This is the way our fathers used to do it…”

The Ghanaian farmer still uses obsolete farming equipment for his work. He procures or obtains somehow, a cutlass for clearing the land, the hoe probably to till the soil and then relies on rainfall for water.

Nothing invigorates him to solicit funds for a combine harvester during harvesting or to use the spraying machine for disease control. All he cares for is prayer for good rainfall, weed control and disease-free season. Well, how can he use advanced technology if he has income barely to feed his family and cannot afford sophisticated technology? As for the use of labour intensive equipment, one cannot over emphasize that. It is time our farmers were encouraged and helped to use modern farming techniques if Ghana must attain food sufficiency.

Labour

In a country where the youth flee from farming and prefer to migrate to already choked cities to sell dog chains, agriculture surely is at risk. To this end, needed energetic labour in adequate quantity for agriculture is a misery. The old unhealthy looking “village champions” are expected to produce food for the rest of the population. The special initiative of the president on cassava and other selected crops in order to draw the youth to agriculture must be lauded. Let’s join hands and make it successful. Would it not be better if Ghanaians, especially the youth embraced it as a household initiative, thereby making it a “popular initiative” rather than seeing it as special initiative that belongs to the president?

The activities of skilled labour in the agricultural sector are also nothing to boast of. The sector is perceived as one for the uneducated, the school dropouts and the under privileged in society. Skilled labour must be encouraged to take up investments in the agricultural sector if we must develop a vibrant sector compared to that of the countries like the USA and Denmark. Can you imagine how vibrant agriculture would be if an agricultural scientist from the KNUST who would conduct effective research, combined efforts and capital with an Economist or Administrator from University of Ghana, Legon (for purposes of administration) and other well sourced skilled labour to establish large scale farms? It is time we realized that land, capital, labour and entrepreneurship are the complete factors of production. The entrepreneur who may not necessarily have the “labour” can provide the capital and risk for effective production. Ghanaians must begin to team up efforts for economic development rather than the one man (sole) proprietorship strategy we are stuck to.

Storage facilities

Ghana does not have good and adequate storage facilities; otherwise food would not go waste in the bumper harvest and subsequently become extremely expensive off season. Little is also known about the Ghanaian farmer adding value to his produce in order to prolong its shelf life. Only a small proportion of our tomatoes are processed into paste, orange into juice. The recent steps being taken by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to add value to agric produce is well calculated, though little has been done so far. If Ghana cannot afford to build, say, two new, decent and simple tomatoes processing plants but can afford so many protocol travels, then we are indeed heavily “HIPC.”

Culture

Ghanaians in my view, wrap mediocrity in culture. Our culture is not dynamic. If we must develop rapidly in any sector of the economy, we must be ready to let go certain aspects of our culture. You may think a custom not to farm or go fishing on certain days of the week is of no harm. Well, maybe the gods would go “mad” should one break such a custom. But don’t you think plants on an irrigation farm which must receive water at least once a day would be affected if not watered a day because of traditional restriction? If you think nothing would go awry, then pay a visit to the Anlo-Keta stretch (noted for large scale shallot, onion and tomatoes farming) where your farm would be badly affected should you fail to water a day. Can you farm on a beach-like sand without daily irrigation?

In a country where the land tenure system is still little to be desired of, conscientious efforts must be made by all stake holders to re-address the system.. Surely, you can’t suffer farming only for a so-called landowner to enjoy two-thirds of the produce.

Our chiefs must show competency by releasing lands for large-scale agriculture to interested investor farmers instead of the numerous chieftaincy disputes and untouchable fertile ancestral grooves we sit on in the name of tradition.

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