The palm oil industry is coming full circle in West Africa. The commodity was first produced in the region as early as the 16th century and commercial trade began in 1820. In the mid-19th century traders transported planting materials from Ghana to Asia, where the climate proved highly conducive for growth. The industry boomed in this new location, leaving Africa behind...
While there is plenty of fertile land available for agriculture in Ghana – an estimated 6.1m ha of its 13.6m ha of agricultural land is not cultivated at present – land acquisition remains a challenging process.
As the foundation of Ghana’s economy, agriculture employs more than half of the population and is a key focus for the country’s inclusive economic development agenda. Yet as the industrial and services sectors have strengthened in recent years, agriculture’s contribution to overall GDP has steadily declined, falling from 32% in 2009 to 22% in 2013. The government’s...
Like many resource-rich countries, Ghana aims to strike a balance between ensuring revenues generated by its mineral wealth flow back to public coffers and maintaining a fiscal environment conducive to investment. Changes in recent years have increased taxes and royalties on the sector as the government has looked to both boost income as well as standardise practices...
The decline in the global price of gold in 2013 came as costs continued to rise. The resulting squeeze had a significant impact on Ghana’s mining industry, which launched a programme of rationalisation. The stable prices of the following year were too low for some Ghanaian operations to continue, though cost pressures eased. If the gold price rises once more, the leaner...
Occupying ninth place in the global ranking of gold producers, Ghana relies on the precious metal to attract investment, generate jobs and make a major contribution to the economy. Though a fall in the price of gold put a dampener on the sector, and indeed Ghana’s broader economy, in 2013 and 2014, the country’s fundamentals are excellent: it has a long track record, a...
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