Worth over $15bn to the national economy, South Africa’s agriculture sector has historically been one of the strongest on the continent. Diversified and increasingly export-oriented, it enjoyed a strong year in 2014, on the back of a healthy maize crop and demand from abroad in particular. While the short-term outlook for 2015 is weaker, thanks...
The issue of land reform is one of the thorniest topics that South Africa faces, with serious social, economic and political implications. The apartheid regime left land concentrated in the hands of the white minority, a situation that has proved difficult to redress fairly and efficiently. Land reform is closely connected to the agricultural...
In 2008 Ghana implemented the Fertiliser Subsidy Programme (FSP), aimed at using fertiliser to boost overall crop productivity. While it increased domestic consumption, it also entailed considerable financial outlay. From the GHS395.2m ($109.7m) allocated to the agriculture sector in the 2015 national budget, about GHS347.2m ($96.3m) – or 87.9...
Land ownership and transactions are among the largest obstacles to the development of Ghana’s agricultural sector. Smallholder farms of less than 3 ha continue to account for around 90% of agricultural producers, with traditional land ownership structures acting as an impediment to attempts to consolidate arable land into larger tracts that...
Even as Ghana’s oil and gas industry continues to expand, the agricultural sector remains a vital contributor to economic activity, employing more than half of the working population. The country cultivates a rich array of staples and cash crops, and is the second-largest producer worldwide of cocoa.
Cocoa has traditionally accounted for a significant proportion of Ghana’s GDP, and while other commodities like gold and oil now bring in more money, cocoa remains a key contributor to rural development. According to the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), agriculture contributes around 40% of Ghana’s export earnings, with cocoa...
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