Agriculture

Over the last decade the relative size of the agriculture sector in Ghana has more than halved, amounting to 15.3% of nominal GDP as of the second quarter of 2019, down from 31.8% in 2009. Nonetheless, the sector retains its strategic importance as a major employer, comprising 44.7% of the labour force. Varying estimates put the percentage of households owning or operating a farm at between 44.1% and 51.5%, amounting to approximately 7.3m individuals. Given agriculture’s crucial role in providing jobs for Ghana’s growing population, the government has embarked on significant modernisation efforts since 2017, chief among them the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative. This was followed in 2018 by the umbrella programme Investing for Food and Jobs, which is focused on agriculture, food security and rural development. his chapter also contains interviews with Kadri Alfah, CEO, Ghana Commodity Exchange; and Edmund Poku, Managing Director, Niche Cocoa.