By: Mankama Sulemana, Co-Founder of Clash International
The importance of agriculture to the development of Ghana is irrefutable. It was a topic of much discussion and debate in our recent election and has become even more so as the questions of Ghana’s food security and food price hikes become increasingly tangible. Agriculture is a unique force of development, because it not only provides a source of income; it provides a source of sustenance. However, how we can ensure that it provides both of these things for the almost 25 million people living in Ghana is not a simple undertaking.
It is important that we don’t set our sights too narrowly in times like this. We have to consider all types of farmers—those specializing in cocoa, cassava, maize, tomatoes, and all of the other crops for which our soil is efficient in producing. While some crops may be valuable to our international market, others are valuable within the nation. We must also think of those who rear animals—chickens, goats, cattle, etc. The same rules apply. Diverse agriculture creates a healthy market that does not hinge on the success of a single value chain, but spreads, and simultaneously minimizes, this risk out over a number of value chains. Even more importantly, diverse agriculture creates a healthy people with access to the foodstuff necessary for a balanced diet.
In turn, we must consider all scales of farmers. Our medium and small-scale farmers are as invaluable to our agricultural success as our large farmers. They each have the potential to produce that much more foodstuff, to feed that many more people, to make the industry that much more full proof. Expanding the agricultural sector is a monumental task that could be more effectively tackled if spread out among all farmers. If our medium and small-scale farmers were able to produce on the level of our larger-scale farmers, or at least with the same efficiency, this would result in exponential growth within the sector. Given the success of our current large-scale farmers, it’s obvious that the knowledge and resources already exist within our nation. That’s something we should be proud of. Now all we need to do is maximize these potentials.
Mankama Sulemana is an agriculturalist specializing in maize, roots, and tuber crops and animals rearing, a graduate of the University for Development Studies, and the co-founder of Clash International.
Clash International is a non-profit organization concerned with cross-cultural understanding and partnership, seeking to find solutions to community-identified challenges through a development culture that is collaborative, self-sufficient, and sustainable.
The importance of agriculture to the development of Ghana is irrefutable. It was a topic of much discussion and debate in our recent election and has become even more so as the questions of Ghana’s food security and food price hikes become increasingly tangible. Agriculture is a unique force of development, because it not only provides a source of income; it provides a source of sustenance. However, how we can ensure that it provides both of these things for the almost 25 million people living in Ghana is not a simple undertaking.
It is important that we don’t set our sights too narrowly in times like this. We have to consider all types of farmers—those specializing in cocoa, cassava, maize, tomatoes, and all of the other crops for which our soil is efficient in producing. While some crops may be valuable to our international market, others are valuable within the nation. We must also think of those who rear animals—chickens, goats, cattle, etc. The same rules apply. Diverse agriculture creates a healthy market that does not hinge on the success of a single value chain, but spreads, and simultaneously minimizes, this risk out over a number of value chains. Even more importantly, diverse agriculture creates a healthy people with access to the foodstuff necessary for a balanced diet.
In turn, we must consider all scales of farmers. Our medium and small-scale farmers are as invaluable to our agricultural success as our large farmers. They each have the potential to produce that much more foodstuff, to feed that many more people, to make the industry that much more full proof. Expanding the agricultural sector is a monumental task that could be more effectively tackled if spread out among all farmers. If our medium and small-scale farmers were able to produce on the level of our larger-scale farmers, or at least with the same efficiency, this would result in exponential growth within the sector. Given the success of our current large-scale farmers, it’s obvious that the knowledge and resources already exist within our nation. That’s something we should be proud of. Now all we need to do is maximize these potentials.
Mankama Sulemana is an agriculturalist specializing in maize, roots, and tuber crops and animals rearing, a graduate of the University for Development Studies, and the co-founder of Clash International.
Clash International is a non-profit organization concerned with cross-cultural understanding and partnership, seeking to find solutions to community-identified challenges through a development culture that is collaborative, self-sufficient, and sustainable.