Africa Agriculture

Although oil and gas have been the focus of domestic economic headlines over the last decade, agriculture remains a key pillar of the economy. It employs almost half of the national labour force, and a key agricultural product – cocoa – is one of the country’s top-three export commodities (see analysis). Upon assuming office in January 2017...

Despite the fact that close to 70% of Ghana’s land area is used for farming, the country remains a net importer of agricultural products, including basic commodities, such as rice and wheat. In 2015 the US Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) estimated that only around half of all cereal and meat consumed is produced locally. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the minister of food and...

As the world’s second-largest producer of cocoa after neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana watches its production levels and its position in the global market closely. The country’s smallholder farmers produce an estimated 20% of the world’s cocoa, and cocoa accounts for 8-12% of Ghana’s GDP and 40% of its foreign exchange earnings, according to...

Unlike commodities such as cocoa, produced mainly for export, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that 75% of Ghana’s annual fish production is for domestic use. Indeed, fish consumption accounts for up to 60% of animal protein in the average Ghanaian diet, with average annual per capita fish consumption estimated at 26...