A GNA Feature by Kingsley Mamore
Dambai (O/R), Sept 15, GNA – Farming has traditionally been regarded as the backbone of Ghana’s economy, providing food, employment and livelihoods for millions of people across the country.
From the smallholder farmer cultivating a few acres of maize, cassava or yam to the commercial farmer producing vegetables, poultry and livestock – agriculture remains central to the survival and development of Ghanaian society.
Yet, despite its importance, the Ghanaian farmer continues to face difficult questions. Has politics become a failure or even a curse to agriculture?
The question is not directed at one political party or administration. Rather, it is a reflection on how successive governments have handled agriculture and the extent to which political promises have translated into sustainable improvements in the lives of farmers.
During election campaigns, farmers often occupy a prominent place in political speeches. Politicians promise improved access to fertiliser, affordable credit, mechanisation, irrigation, better roads, storage facilities, extension services and reliable markets.
Farmers listen with hope
But after elections, many are left to confront the same old challenges: high production costs, inadequate access to finance, post-harvest losses, poor feeder roads, limited irrigation, unreliable markets and fluctuating prices.
This raises a critical question: Are Ghanaian farmers being treated as partners in national development or merely as a political constituency to be remembered during election seasons?
The farmer’s struggle
For the average farmer, farming is not a hobby. It is a business for many rural families, their primary source of income.
A farmer invests money in land preparation, seeds, fertiliser, chemicals, labour and transportation, often without knowing what price the produce will fetch at harvest.
The irony is that while consumers frequently complain about high food prices, farmers themselves do not necessarily receive the greatest share of the money paid for agricultural produce.
A farmer may sell a bag of maize at a relatively low farm-gate price, only for the same commodity to become considerably more expensive by the time it reaches the final consumer.
Between the farm and the market are transportation costs, middlemen, storage expenses and other charges.
The farmer therefore carries much of the production risk but often has limited control over the final price.
Political promises versus agricultural reality
Successive governments have introduced programmes aimed at improving agricultural production and supporting farmers.
Some of these interventions have produced positive results, while others have struggled with implementation, continuity and sustainability.
The concern, however, is that agricultural development should not depend entirely on which political party is in power.
A farmer who plants maize today needs policies that will still support the agricultural sector several years from now.
Agriculture requires long-term planning. A farmer cannot plant cocoa, establish an orchard or develop an irrigation project based on a four-year political cycle.
What Ghana needs is a national agricultural vision that survives changes in government.
Political parties may disagree on how best to develop agriculture, but there should be broad agreement that food production, farmer welfare and agricultural industrialisation are national priorities.
Where are the young people?
Another worrying development is the declining interest of young people in farming.
Many young Ghanaians see agriculture as physically demanding, financially risky and poorly rewarded. Some would rather seek employment in cities than return to their communities to farm.
Should these concern policymakers?
If the youth abandon agriculture, who will produce the food Ghana needs in the future?
The country cannot rely indefinitely on an ageing farming population while importing significant quantities of food that could potentially be produced locally.
Agriculture must therefore be repositioned as a modern and profitable business—not an occupation reserved for people who have no other options.
Young farmers need access to land, affordable financing, modern machinery, digital technology, irrigation, storage and reliable markets.
The missing link: processing
Ghana also needs to move beyond producing raw agricultural commodities. Farmers should not be encouraged merely to produce more without establishing systems to process, store and market their produce.
If Ghana produces large quantities of tomatoes but loses significant amounts because there are inadequate storage and processing facilities, increasing production alone will not solve the problem.
The same applies to maize, cassava, yam, fruits and vegetables.
Agricultural development must therefore be linked to agro-processing and industrialisation.
When farmers have nearby processing facilities, they can produce for known markets and reduce the losses associated with transporting perishable goods over long distances.
Roads, irrigation and storage
For many rural farmers, the farm-to-market road remains one of their greatest challenges.
A farmer may produce a good harvest but struggle to transport it to market because of poor roads.
During the rainy season, some communities become difficult to access, increasing transportation costs and causing produce to deteriorate before reaching consumers.
Investment in feeder roads, irrigation, warehouses, cold-storage facilities and rural infrastructure should therefore be treated as agricultural investments, not merely infrastructure projects.
Politics should serve agriculture
Politics itself is not the enemy of farming. Indeed, good politics can provide the policies, legislation, investments and institutional support necessary to transform agriculture.
The problem arises when agricultural policies become overly politicised, discontinued with changes in government or used mainly as campaign promises.
The Ghanaian farmer needs consistency
Farmers need to know that a government programme introduced today will not simply disappear tomorrow because there has been a change in political leadership.
Farmers need policies that are measured by outcomes: How much has production increased? How much has the farmer’s income improved?
How many young people have entered agriculture? How much post-harvest loss has been reduced? How much agricultural produce is being processed locally?
These are the questions that should define agricultural success.
A call for a new agricultural compact
Ghana needs a new social and political compact with its farmers.
Political parties must go beyond promises and present practical, measurable and sustainable agricultural policies.
Government must strengthen extension services, improve access to affordable credit, expand irrigation, support mechanisation, improve rural roads, develop storage and processing facilities, and create dependable markets for farmers.
The private sector must also be encouraged to invest more heavily in agriculture and agro-processing.
Most importantly, farmers themselves must be treated as serious economic actors.
They are entrepreneurs, employers, food producers and contributors to national development.
The Ghanaian farmer does not necessarily need sympathy.
The farmer needs a system that works
If politics can provide such a system, then politics will become a powerful tool for agricultural transformation.
But if farmers continue to receive promises during election seasons and face the same structural challenges after every election, then the question will remain:
Is politics failing the Ghanaian farmer—or has the farmer become a victim of politics?
The answer lies not only with politicians but with all Ghanaians.
A country that cannot protect and reward the people, who feed it, risks compromising its own future.
The time has come to make agriculture a national economic project rather than merely a political campaign slogan.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah /Benjamin Mensah