Ghana's Agriculture Sector

The agricultural sector is an important asset of the Ghanaian economy. It occupies one-third of GDP and employs 55% or more of the population (Ghana agriculture). The climate of Ghana is tropical; it is warm and dry along the southeastern coast; the southwest is hot and humid, and the north is hot and dry. Most of the topography is low plains, and the central and southern regions are distributed in plateaus. The overall proportion of land use is 17.54% of cultivated land and 22% of permanent crop. Environmental problems in Ghana are deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, drought, water pollution, and lack of drinking water supply.

Cocoa's sales have contributed to the improvement of the agricultural sector of Ghana as cocoa yields have increased. Cocoa prices and exports of other Ghana - gold - prices rose again. Eric Amenger, deputy research director of the Ghana Cocoa Committee, said the cocoa processing industry is expanding with the influx of soybeans. He added that the license to apply for the construction of a new plant is a flood. But critics say that plans to establish a new factory in 216 regions in Ghana are slow.

Cocoa is the main cash crop of Ghana and is the main agricultural export item of the country. Among the world's largest producers of cocoa, Ghana is ranked second after Cote d'Ivoire. The Government of Ghana is managing the cocoa sector through the Cocoa Marketing Committee. Cocoa cultivation throughout the country is done in forest areas such as Ashanti, Central, Brong-Ahafo, Volta. After harvesting the crops, the cocoa beans are dried and fermented for export to the Netherlands, Belgium and the US for processing. Cocoa exports in Ghana in 2016 amounted to about 1.89 billion US dollars, accounting for 39% of the world market.