GEOG 324: Regional Geography of West Africa with special reference to

Ghana
Agricultural Production in West Africa

Importance of Agriculture in Developing Countries

Agriculture is a major source of livelihood for most farmers in developing countries
particularly in rural areas. It is the source of food supplies for the population both
rural and urban sectors in developing countries. It is part of a way of life rather than
simply an occupation. It is also an integral part of complex traditional cultures
involving religion, kinship and the whole fabric of rural society (Dickenson et al.
1985). Agriculture is crucial to the development of developing countries and has
been given high priority in development plans. It provides the bulk of export to
support the economies and a major source of raw materials for processing and
manufacturing sectors. Its the engine of growth and necessary for reducing
poverty and food insecurity particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank, 2008)
Systems/Forms of Agriculture in West Africa Agricultural production system
across the sub- region is diversified even though there are two broad types:
Traditional farming/ subsistence (Food crop) and Large-scale farming / commercial
agric (cash crop).
Traditional farming/ subsistence

Largely for subsistence purpose- household use and surplus for sale
locally
Traditional Farming methods e.g. Shifting cultivation, rotational bush
fallow, permanent cultivation, pastorialism and mixed farming.
Rural based - rural households generally produce a high proportion of
their subsistence requirements directly.
Mainly food crop production. There are different indigenous food
production methods in West Africa. These are food crop cultivation,
livestock rearing, including pastorialism, fishing, hunting and
gathering.

Large-scale agricultural production: characterized by limited range of crops

grown (mostly in the form of plantations and for commercial purposes and use
modern techniques. e.g. cotton, sugar coffee, cocoa etc.There are differences
between Small-scale (subsistence) and Large-scale (commercial) Farming (see
attached document). However, some modern practices are being incorporated into
traditional practices e.g. use of fertilizers, herbicides, tractors. Some indigenous or
traditional techniques such as burning after clearing, and intercropping are now
known as environmentally more sustainable.
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Some Cash Crops in West Africa

Cocoa: The main producers are: Ghana, Nigeria and Cote DIvoire. Cocoa was first
planted in Ghana in 1870s. As in the rest of West Africa, cocoa is grown almost
entirely on small holdings, mainly on family basis
Oil Palm: The palm tree is indigenous to West Africa, with natural strands occurring
along the coastal belt extending from the Gambia to Nigeria. Countries which hold
large areas covered by oil palms are Nigeria, Guinea, Cote DIvoire, Ghana and
smaller areas of Benin, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Senegal and Togo. Oil palm
uses and processing methods also differ between the subsistence and commercial
markets in West Africa. Used mainly as a food crop on subsistence basis while oil
palm fruits from plantations are mostly aimed at the production of oil for the
commercial sector for export or utilized by local industries.
Other forms of Agriculture in W/Africa
Forestry: Forestry products play an important part both in the subsistence
economy and the export trade of many countries in West Africa. In Ghana for
instance, after cocoa and minerals, timber is the most valuable export. Ghana is one
of the largest producers of hardwoods in the world. Several species of timberproducing trees are exploited, the most popular being mahogany, wawa, sapele,
odum (iroko). Timber is exported mostly in the form of logs, although sawn timber
and plywood also feature in the list of timber exports. Firewood, which is the main
source of domestic fuel, is another important product of the forest. Other forest
products include rubber-bearing plants, kola, teak and chewing stick.
Pastoralism (Livestock production): A major economic activity especially in the
savanna region of West Africa. It provides large employment avenues and income
sources and foreign exchange to individuals and countries. Cattle rearing is one of
the most important and predominant livestock activities in West Africa, especially in
the savanna zone. The major pastoral group which exist in West Africa if the Fulani
(nomads, move down south in the dry season in search of water, pasture and
market and up north again in the wet season). Other animals reared in most parts of
West Africa include sheep, goats, donkeys and fowls which are found in most homes
and sometimes on commercial basis in recent years.
Fishing: Fishing constitutes a major occupation of West Africans especially those
living along the coast, although inland fishing within the various lakes and rivers in
the sub-region. Fish constitute only a minor part of the diet of many West Africans
but it is an important source of protein. Gender division of labour in the fishing
sector men usually catch the fish and the women often preserve the surplus by
drying, smoking, or salting it for sale. Inland fishing is also of considerable
importance in some parts of West Africa. E.g. On the upper Niger, the Bozo are
specialist fishermen who migrate up and down the river according to the season.
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In Ghana, the fishing industry has become one of the most important sub-sectors
but its characterized by its seasonality implications for those who depend on that
as their major livelihood. Because of the lack of storage facilities, prices tend to
drop during the peak fishing season, resulting in the under-utilization of the fishing
resources. The bulk of the marine catch during the season is by the small canoe
fishermen who have little or no link with credit institutions to support the expansion
of their businesses.
The waters along the West African coasts have most often attracted much attention
from fishing vessels with factory ships in attendance, from Japan, Spain, Eastern
Europe and China. Local fishermen in their wooden boats and canoes are
endangered by the foreign trawlers and complain that their fishing is dwindling as a
result of overfishing by these trawlers.
Challenges of Agricultural Development in West Africa
Even though agriculture plays a major role employing over 70% of the population of
most countries in the sub-region, macro-economic indicators suggest that
agriculture has declined relative to the service sector. Some of the key challenges:
Labour: Human labour is an important input particularly in areas with low
technology agricultural systems. In these areas, family labour is used (most often
unpaid). Where there is serious out-migration (males), agricultural productivity is
affected. Another factor affecting labour is ill-health. Diseases such as malaria, can
have an effect on labour availability and efficiency. The ability to purchase labour
(hired labour) is also another factor affecting household labour supply. This can
influence the ability of household to undertake productive tasks at the required
pointing the cultivation cycle.
Capital: Use of traditional tools such as hoes, cutlasses and axes for small-scale
agricultural production. Commercial or plantation agriculture has high investments
in technologies and use more sophiscated tools and machinery .Mostly associated
with cash crop production
Climate Change: Temperature increases that leads to prolonged drought periods,
Changes in rainfall patterns floods. Increased crop failure, livestock production.
Drought has been particularly severe in the Sahelian region with vast losses of
both crops and animals. Many semi-nomadic herders have moved their herds
southwards to the forest zone.
Population Growth: With increasing population, essential fallow periods have
been eliminated as land has been used for housing facilities. In northern Ghana,
land which was left fallow for around six years ago is now farmed every year. This
affects the fertility of the soil and productivity. In the southern part of the forest
zone population pressure is extreme, and in southern Ghana, population pressure is

a problem that is creating over-cultivation. Soil quality has been affected, and
gullying and erosion are increasingly widespread.
Limited Storage and marketing facilities: This leads to low farm prices, poor
storage / post harvest losses, poor transportation networks / marketing facilities.
The quantity and quality of stored grains, root crops and vegetables for replanting
are also reduced.
Government Policies: Removal of subsidies on agricultural inputs. The result has
been increasing the cost of agricultural inputs and post harvest losses within the
region.
Agricultural research and development: Inadequate funding limits agricultural
research activities and this in turn affect agricultural production.

Cotton Production in West Africa: Cotton plays an important part in the

economic development of a number of West African countries. Cotton has been
grown in West Africa for more than a 100 years and a significant traditional textiles
industry has existed in the region for than 50 years. Hundreds of varieties of cotton
grain exist in West Africa Some are indigenous and have been traced back to the
10th century. Most West African cotton is produced in Sahelian areas, although a
significant amount is also produced in the inland areas towards the Sahelian zone of
coastal countries such as Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Cote DIvoire. Cotton
production is normally part of a diverse production system involving the production
of cereals, vegetables and other activities. Export-oriented cotton production is
most developed in Francophone West Africa, where four of the top five producers
are found (Mali, Cote dIvoire, Benin and Burkina Faso). Thus the growth of
production in these countries may be attributed to: the seriousness of the French
colonial effort, the level of state control in the cotton sector and; a lack of other
export alternatives for Mali, Benin and Burkina Faso. In most of these countries
cotton production is managed by a partially government owned parastatal that has
monopoly control over the provision of credit, the sale of inputs, and the purchase
of farmer output. e.g. Burkina Fasos National Cotton Company Societe Burkinabe
Des Fibres Textiles (SOFITEX).
West African cotton is of superior /high quality because it is handpicked (as opposed
to machine picked) (UNCTAD 2005). Has a longer fiber length than other cotton
types that are characterized in the same category (Bassett 2005). While women
historically grew cotton in small gardens in many areas of West Africa, the crop is
now largely grown by male headed households and by young men (Moseley 1993;
Bassett 2001). This relates to the change during colonial era from cotton being
grown for local cloth production to its cultivation as a cash crop.Even though cotton
is now a male crop, male heads of household use both family and hired labour to
harvest cotton by hand. Women and girls work - harvest cotton on household farm.
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Importance of Cotton production

Major source of livelihood employment for many small-holder farmers.
Cotton is often the only source of agricultural credit and is pivotal in reducing
poverty and improving livelihoods for hundreds of thousand rural and urban
households (Pfeifer 2005).
Cotton is also major source of foreign exchange earnings for West African
governments, ranging from a fifth of Malis exports to more than a third of
Burkina Fasos.
Development of social services education, health

Challenges of small holder cotton farmers

Cotton Pricing: While world prices affect how much farmers get for their cotton,
the national governments of West Africa give a much lower share of the world
market prices to their farmers than in other countries. This dependence of cotton
growers and governments on world markets makes them vulnerable to declining
prices and unfavorable exchange rates
Indebtedness: one of the largest problem facing cotton farmers is debt. They take
their input on credit and then what they owe is subtracted from their cotton
payment after harvest. Eg. Farmers take from SOFITEX in Burkina Faso.
Transportation and Late payment: Challenge of getting their cotton transported
or graded. Although cotton may be weighed and graded in December, farmers
would not be paid until April or in many cases May e.g. in BF. Corruption and misuse
of funds, particularly as these cotton companies are state-owned enterprises with
no external competition.
Ineffective pest control: Pest pressure on growing cotton conventional
approaches to pest control through chemical sprays have increasingly become
ineffective as pest population have developed resistance. However, the introduction
of improved cotton varieties is addressing this challenge esp. in BF.
Access to Fertile land: Farmers are increasingly concerned that quality land is no
longer available due to increasing urbanization.
Environmental and health challenges: Use of unapproved pesticides. Studies in
Senegal, Ghana, and Benin have demonstrated that significant numbers of farmers
use cotton pesticides on other crops, around the household for pest control, to
preserve postharvest grain crops, and that they reuse pesticides containers for
other purposes. In Ghana, for example, many farmers use cotton pesticides on food
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crop such as cowpea (Williamson 2003). The inappropriate use of pesticides is quite
serious and has health implications. There are efforts to introduce organic cotton
into Sub- Saharan Africa. Most farmers do not use protective materials during
spraying.
Lack of labour or resources during the different stages can seriously lower yields.
Increasing labour costs due to rural-urban migration. One of the most difficult
periods is harvest. Cotton matures later than other crops, and the harvest is labour
intensive. In Mali, most farmers are moving into peanut production due to lack of
labour.
Lack of other farm inputs: Farmers without oxen are severely limited in their
ability to cultivate cotton early enough. Farmers also need to apply inputs at the
right moment to ensure good production.
Climate change: changes in rainfall patterns are affecting cotton production. In
parts of Mali, farmers are facing the problem of too much rain causing flooding.
Some have abandoned and concentrated on short-term crops such as peanuts and
sorghum.

Major References and Texts:

Bening, R. B & A. B. Asiedu. 2010. DE Module
Moseley, G. & L. C. Gray. 2008.(Eds). Cotton, Globalization and Poverty in Africa:
Hanging by the Thread. Global and Comparative Studies Series No. 9, Ohio
University Press. The Nordic Africa Institute.