IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/rnd/arjsds/v4y2013i9p425-434.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Policy Initiatives and Agricultural Performance in Post-independent Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Samuel Asuming-Brempong

Abstract

The central role agriculture plays in the development of Ghana’s economy has been recognized by several authors, particularly because Ghana’s economy is basically agrarian. Nevertheless, the contributions agriculture can make to economic development depend on the policy environment within which agriculture thrives. Several policies, both general and specific to agriculture, which have been pursued under various governments have either promoted or mitigated against the performance of agriculture in Ghana. This paper reviews the various policies under which Ghana's agricultural sector has operated since independence, and provides a synthesis of the major existing policies and recent changes and how these have affected the agricultural sector. The analysis shows that the socialist model of the 1960s contrasted sharply with the liberalized market approach of the 1980s and 1990s, particularly under structural adjustment. These differing policy orientations have had significant effects on agricultural performance in Ghana, and the roles of agriculture at different periods. For instance, the policy effects of agricultural activities on the environment, such as the promotion of export commodities, the exploitation of timber and forest resources, mining, and indiscriminate sale and use of agro-chemicals in Ghana have been negative. On the other hand, promotion of cash and export crops through government policy incentives have improved rural incomes for farmers that cultivate such crops, and helped to reduce poverty among this group. In general, the policy effects on agriculture in Ghana have been mixed.

Suggested Citation

  • Samuel Asuming-Brempong, 2013. "Policy Initiatives and Agricultural Performance in Post-independent Ghana," Journal of Social and Development Sciences, AMH International, vol. 4(9), pages 425-434.
  • Handle: RePEc:rnd:arjsds:v:4:y:2013:i:9:p:425-434
    DOI: 10.22610/jsds.v4i9.781
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ojs.amhinternational.com/index.php/jsds/article/view/781/781
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://ojs.amhinternational.com/index.php/jsds/article/view/781
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22610/jsds.v4i9.781?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kuwornu, John K.M. & Abboah, Roland & Amegashie, Ditchfield P.K. & Kuiper, W. Erno, 2009. "Econometric Analysis of Marketing Costs: A Case Study," Journal of Food Distribution Research, Food Distribution Research Society, vol. 40(1), pages 1-7, March.
    2. John K.M. Kuwornu & Demi M. Suleyman & Ditchfield P.K. Amegashie, 2013. "Comparative Analysis of Food Security Status of Farming Households in the Coastal and the Forest Communities of Central Region of Ghana," Asian Journal of Empirical Research, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 3(1), pages 39-61, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chapoto, A. & Houssou, N. & Asante-Addo, C. & Mabiso, A., 2018. "Can smallholder farmers grow? Perspectives from the rise of indigenous small-scale farmers in Ghana," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277225, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    2. Adzigbli, Wonder Kofi & Duku, Eric & Atampugre, Gerald & Fürst, Christine & Nyarko, Benjamin Kofi, 2024. "Agricultural land use policies and landscape dynamics: Evidence from rainforest agroecological zone," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Olutumise, A. I. & Abiodun, T. C. & Ekundayo, B. P., 2021. "Diversification Of Livelihood And Food Security Nexus Among Rural Households In Ondo State, Nigeria," Journal of Rural Economics and Development, University of Ibadan, Department of Agricultural Economics, vol. 23(1), September.
    2. Nyangau, Paul & Muriithi, Beatrice & Irungu, Patrick & Nzuma, Jonathan & Diiro, Glacious, 2017. "Assessing the impact of integrated pest management (IPM) technology for mango fruit fly control on food security among smallholders in Machakos County, Kenya," 91st Annual Conference, April 24-26, 2017, Royal Dublin Society, Dublin, Ireland 258650, Agricultural Economics Society.
    3. Idoko, Ikani Daniel, 2016. "An Impact Assessment of Flooding on Food Security among Rural Farmers in Dagiri Community, of Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja, Nigeria," Agricultural Development, Asian Online Journal Publishing Group, vol. 1(1), September.
    4. Nyang'au, Paul Nyamweya, 2018. "Impact Of Integrated Pest Management Technology On Food Security Among Mango Farmers In Machakos County, Kenya," Research Theses 276453, Collaborative Masters Program in Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    5. Umar Ijaz Ahmed & Liu Ying & Muhammad Khalid Bashir & Muhammad Abid & Farhad Zulfiqar, 2017. "Status and determinants of small farming households' food security and role of market access in enhancing food security in rural Pakistan," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(10), pages 1-15, October.
    6. Nyang’au, Paul Nyamweya & Nzuma, Jonathan & Irungu, Patrick & Muriithi, Beatrice, 2018. "A Thesis Submitted In Partial Fulfillment Of The Requirements For The Award Of A Master Of Science Degree In Agricultural And Applied Economics, University Of Nairobi," Dissertations and Theses 276387, University of Nairobi, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    7. repec:ajn:agdeve:2016:p:6-13 is not listed on IDEAS

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:rnd:arjsds:v:4:y:2013:i:9:p:425-434. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Muhammad Tayyab (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://ojs.amhinternational.com/index.php/jsds .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.