Agriculture catching up the modern era

Modernising agriculture
The government is also seeking to strike a balance between cash cropping and subsistence farming. Food insecurity has improved in Ghana over the past 25 years but is still a problem in the north. In 2012, the government signed up to the G8 New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition and has agreed to focus on the cultivation of five main food crops: cassava, cowpea, maize, rice and yam. Cowpeas, which are also known as black-eyed peas, are an increasingly popular crop in arid areas of the world and require less land and energy input than meat or dairy production. They also help to put nitrogen back into depleted soils. Finally, Accra has pledged to promote the use of high yield hybrid seeds that can increase harvests. Deputy Food and Agriculture Minister, Ahmed Yakubu Alhassa, says: “This is really about improving the environment of aid effectiveness, food and nutrition so that countries can really take ownership of their food security and initiatives. Ghana has huge potential in horticultural crops, in vegetables and fruits like pineapple. But natural resources by themselves do not bring economic returns. What is needed is more investment.”

However, some campaign groups oppose the government’s plans. A spokesperson for Food Sovereignty fears that the reliance on more modern seed strains will increase Ghana’s dependence on foreign companies. He added: “The high priority given to private investment outlined in the G8 cooperation agreement in support of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Ghana is fundamentally flawed. Ghana’s current pattern of agricultural investment and growth is clearly not succeeding in addressing food and nutrition insecurity. The New Alliance document manifestly emphasises private investment, but there is little corporate profit to be made in the type of agriculture that can address these issues.”

According to the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Clement Kofi Humado, the government has dedicated 10% of annual expenditure to the agriculture sector over the last five years. Accra’s strategy has been to promote the growth of the private sector, while curtailing the role of the state. Fertiliser subsidies have been reduced or removed over the past few years but farmers could benefit from cheaper fertiliser in the longer term.

Gas from Ghana’s new hydrocarbon fields is to be piped onshore for use by a variety of domestic businesses, including hopefully fertiliser production. Fertiliser is a relatively low-cost, high-weight product and so transport costs make up a relatively high proportion of its final cost. Domestic production should therefore make it cheaper and could ensure that there is a wider range of products available in the country. A small variation in price can make the difference between tens of thousands of farmers using fertiliser and it being overlooked.