Publication: Ghana Agriculture Sector Policy Note: Transforming Agriculture for Economic Growth, Job Creation, and Food Security
Loading...
Date
2017-06
ISSN
Published
2017-06
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
The objective of this note is to help the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) identify strategic policy directions and reform areas that are fundamental to accelerate and sustain agriculture sector growth. Sustained agricultural growth will contribute to overall resiliency ofthe economy as it undergoes structural transformation as it moves beyond lower middle-income status.The Agriculture Sector Policy Note is based on a number of sector studies and reports prepared by the Bank to support the existing investment projects. The objective of the Agricultural Sector Policy Note is to help Ghana achieve transformation and modernization of its agriculture sector. There are both challenges and opportunities towards achieving transformation and modernization of the agriculture sector in Ghana. The agricultural sector accounts for one fifth of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employs nearly half of the workforce and is the main source of livelihood for the majority of the country’s poorest households.Ghana’s agricultural sector is characterized by low yields for both staple and cash crops.Ghana is a net importer of basic foods (raw and processed) including rice, poultry, sugar, and vegetable oils.Ghana has significant agricultural potential, particularly in the semi-arid NorthernSavannah (agro-)Ecological Zone (NSEZ), including the Afram Plains.The first priority is to improve public expenditure allocation and management as well as budget coordination in agriculture.The second priority is for MoFA to improve the collection and analysis of agriculturalstatistics to produce high quality and credible data for sector planning on a regular basis.Third, MoFA should improve the efficiency and effectiveness of input subsidy programs and fix gaps in input supply legislation.Fourth, prioritization of public investments in infrastructure, particularly in high agricultural potential areas, such as the NSEZ (including the Afram Plains) is critical to sustain Ghana’s agricultural growth. The government should promote coordination in the the implementation of its National Climate-Smart Agriculture and Food Security Action Plan, following the principles laid down in the National Climate Change Policy as well as the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC). The Government should also strengthen research on climate-smart agricultural technologies, strengthen the research-extension linkages to promote farmers’ technology adoption especially in fragile but high potential environments such as the NSEZ.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“2017. Ghana Agriculture Sector Policy Note: Transforming Agriculture for Economic Growth, Job Creation, and Food Security. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28394 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Africa Can Help Feed Africa(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-10)Africa's growing demand for food has been met increasingly by imports from the global market. This, coupled with rising global food prices, brings ever-mounting food import bills. In addition, population growth and changing demand patterns will double demands over the next 10 years. Two key issues must be addressed: (a) establishing a consistent and stable policy environment for regional trade in fertilizers; and (b) investing in institutions that reduce the transaction costs of coordination failures. Many countries have enacted new fertilizer laws in recent years, but few have provided the resources to define and enforce regulations through standards and testing capacity. This report shows that reducing regulatory burdens on fertilizers and the consequent increase in use of fertilizers will have substantial impacts on returns to farmers, with consequent impacts on poverty. The report highlights the range of barriers to food trade in Africa along the entire value chain. The issues pertain to many ministries and agencies within government: trade, agricultural, health and safety, transport, and finance. This in turn requires a "whole of government' approach to freeing up food trade, which will require strong and effective leadership to articulate the rationale and sustain the momentum for reform. Leaders must also address the hard choices that will arise in dealing with the political economy constraints that have until now blocked the capacity of Africa to exploit its enormous potential to feed Africans.Publication Ghana Agricultural Sector Risk Assessment(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-06)Improved agricultural risk management is one of the core enabling actions of the Group of Eight’s (G-8’s) New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition. The Agricultural Risk Management Team (ARMT) of the Agriculture and Environment Services Department of the World Bank conducted an agricultural sector risk assessment to better understand the dynamics of agricultural risks and identify appropriate responses, incorporate agricultural risk perspective into decision-making, and build capacity of local stakeholders in risk assessment and management.Publication Nigeria Agriculture and Rural Poverty : A Policy Note(Washington, DC, 2014-05)The Nigerian labor force, like that of many countries in Africa, is heavily concentrated in agriculture. According to World Bank reports, the agricultural sector in Nigeria grew by about 6.8 percent annually from 2005-2009. This report focuses on the characteristics of the agricultural sector and rural households in Nigeria, and their implications for poverty. This report examines the relationships using nationally representative data from the general household survey panel (GHS), 2010-11. It was found that an elasticity of poverty reduction with respect to agricultural productivity of between 0.25 to 0.3 percent implying that a 10 percent increase in agricultural productivity will decrease the likelihood of being poor by between 2.5 and 3 percent. Agriculture in Nigeria is varied across regions, and, not surprisingly, most households involved in the sector reside in rural areas. The report is organized as follows: section one gives introduction. Section two gives brief description of selected agricultural programs and the targets of government expenditure in the sector in recent decades. Section three presents detailed profile of rural households and the composition of economic activities with a particular focus on agriculture. Section four examines the determinants of agricultural productivity, and highlights the factors (land ownership, input use, labor, plot management, land tenure, and household characteristics) most important for small-holder productivity. Section five concludes.Publication Enhancing Food Security in Afghanistan : Private Markets and Public Policy Options(Washington, DC, 2005-08)This report analyzes some key aspects of food security, namely production, trade, markets and food aid at the national level, and consumption at the household level. In doing so it aspires to make a contribution to the on-going work in Afghanistan regarding the attainment of the poverty and hunger Millennium Development Goal. The major findings of the report can be summarized as follows: Food security (at the national level) does not necessarily require national self-sufficiency in wheat or other food staples, as long as the country has access to international markets. Rather, diversification into legal high-value crops and livestock products may be the most effective means of increasing food security, by generating foreign exchange and raising the incomes and purchasing power of the rural poor. In spite of very difficult conditions, wheat markets in Afghanistan have performed fairly well and private sector international trade has helped to stabilize supply and prices. Therefore, further developing the infrastructure and institutions to support wheat markets and facilitating private sector trade is called for and will enhance food security. At the household level, food insecurity in Afghanistan is largely caused by inadequate access to food resulting from low household incomes. For most of Afghanistan, where availability of food is not a constraint, increasing cash incomes is the more efficient means of enhancing food security of the poor. Development of both private and public capacity for data collection and analysis is a high priority for effective formulation, assessment and implementation of food policies.Publication Zambia : Smallholder Agricultural Commercialization Strategy(Washington, DC, 2007-01)This report focuses on the potential and opportunities for smallholder commercialization in Zambia. The paper discusses the framework for Zambia's smallholder commercialization strategy, the current state of smallholder agriculture in Zambia, key issues, support from agribusiness to smallholders, and development of potential and opportunities for smallholder commercialization. The paper concludes with three strategy areas: how to strengthen existing market mechanisms, reform of sectoral policies, and investments in public infrastructure.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Challenges for African Agriculture(Washington, DC: Agence Française de Développement and the World Bank, 2011)What is the future for Sub-Saharan African farms? What role can they play in the development of the subcontinent? These are crucial issues which require answers. The issue of feeding the planet has once again become crucial. The first challenge for these farms is consequently to produce more and better in order to feed Africa’s growing population. They can achieve this by developing a huge natural potential, exploiting the margins made possible by agricultural progress and fighting to obtain secure agricultural prices. With an ever-increasing agricultural population, the second challenge is to promote the available human capital within the smallholding farms. This capital is currently wasted due to the lack of training opportunities, innovation and a favourable social, economic and regulatory situation. With the threat of a lack of employment, food-related problems, conflicts, exoduses and desertification, the third challenge is how to manage to make these efforts to develop and promote sustainable, both in the field and in the whole economy. This requires implementing coherent agricultural, social and environmental policies and integrated regional management. African farmers and the leaders of their organisations are key players in terms of meeting these three challenges and bringing about these essential changes on farms, in regions and in the way agricultural industries are managed. They carry a vision of the future of their farming and the rural world which is essential for orienting the transitions in Africa’s rural economies. This collective work will have met its objective if it helps change the way we view the potential of Africa’s smallholding farms and if all those needed to promote it are given incentives to make long-term commitments.Publication Post-Harvest Loss in Sub-Saharan Africa : What Do Farmers Say?(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-04)The 2007-2008 global food crisis has renewed interest in post-harvest loss, but estimates remain scarce, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper uses self-reported measures from nationally representative household surveys in Malawi, Uganda, and Tanzania. Overall, on-farm post-harvest loss adds to 1.4-5.9 percent of the national maize harvest, substantially lower than the Food and Agriculture Organization's post-harvest handling and storage loss estimate for cereals, which is 8 percent. Post-harvest loss is concentrated among less than a fifth of households. It increases with humidity and temperature and declines with better market access, post-primary education, higher seasonal price differences, and possibly improved storage practices. Wider use of nationally representative surveys in studying post-harvest loss is called for.Publication Accessing Economic and Political Impacts of Hydrological Variability on Treaties : Case Studies on the Zambezi and Mekong Basins(2012-03-01)International river basins will likely face higher hydrologic variability due to climate change. Increased floods and droughts would have economic and political consequences. Riparians of transboundary basins governed by water treaties could experience non-compliance and inter-state tensions if flow falls below levels presumed in a treaty. Flow information is essential to cope with these challenges through water storage, allocation, and use. This paper demonstrates a simple yet robust method, which measures gauge station runoff with wetness values derived from satellite data (1988-2010), for expanding sub-basin stream flow information to the entire river basin where natural flow information is limited. It demonstrates the approach with flow level data that provide estimates of monthly runoff in near real time in two international river basins: Zambezi and Mekong. The paper includes an economic framework incorporating information on existing institutions to assess potential economic and political impacts and to inform policy on conflict and cooperation between riparians. The authors conclude that satellite data modeled with gauge station runoff reduce the uncertainty inherent in negotiating an international water agreement under increased hydrological variability, and thus can assist policy makers to devise more efficient institutional apparatus.Publication Rising through Cities in Ghana(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-04)Rapid urbanization in Ghana over the past three decades has coincided with rapid GDP growth. This has helped to create jobs, increase human capital, decrease poverty, and expand opportunities and improve living conditions for millions of Ghanaians. Ghana’s urban transformation has been momentous, but it is not unique: a similar process has characterized other countries at similar levels of development. Ghana’s key challenge now is to ensure that urbanization continues to complement growth through improvements in productivity and inclusion, rather than detracting from these goals. Many rising problems are related to efficiency and inclusion: these include slums, lack of basic services, underdeveloped manufacturing, and insufficient transport infrastructure.Publication Ghana Agricultural Sector Risk Assessment(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-06)Improved agricultural risk management is one of the core enabling actions of the Group of Eight’s (G-8’s) New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition. The Agricultural Risk Management Team (ARMT) of the Agriculture and Environment Services Department of the World Bank conducted an agricultural sector risk assessment to better understand the dynamics of agricultural risks and identify appropriate responses, incorporate agricultural risk perspective into decision-making, and build capacity of local stakeholders in risk assessment and management.