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Rural poverty in Ghana

In recent years, Ghana has emerged as a leading country in the Western and Central Africa region. It has developed its economy on a scale that could enable it to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) before the 2015 deadline. It also managed a smooth and peaceful political transition in 2008 and 2009, and has created a political and policy environment conducive to economic and social progress and poverty reduction.

The Ghanaian economy has grown at an average annual rate of 4.8 per cent over the past two decades. By 2008 GDP growth had reached 7.3 per cent. The agriculture sector, which contributed 33.5 per cent of GDP in 2008, remains the country’s major engine of economic growth. Rapid economic progress has all but halved national poverty rates, which have fallen from approximately 50 per cent in 1991 to 28.5 per cent in 2006. In the last decade, poverty rates dropped by 8.6 per cent in urban areas and by 10.4 per cent in rural ones. Ghana’s growth and poverty reduction rates are probably the best that have been achieved throughout sub-Saharan Africa in the past 15 years.

Where are Ghana's rural poor people?

Although there has been a substantial overall decline in the incidence of poverty in Ghana, poverty still has a firm grip on rural areas, especially in the north. There is a wide disparity in income between people living in the drought-prone northern plains, and those living in the south, where there are two growing seasons and greater economic opportunities.

Who are Ghana's rural poor people?

Just over half the country’s population lives in rural areas. The poorest parts of Ghana are the savannah regions of the north (the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions), where chronic food insecurity is widespread and livelihoods are more vulnerable. Poor rural people have limited access to basic social services, safe water, roads that are accessible year round, and electricity and telephone services. Poverty is most severe among food crop farmers, who are mainly traditional small-scale producers. About six in ten small-scale farmers are poor, and many are women. Women bear heavy workloads. In addition to their domestic chores, they are responsible for about 60 per cent of agricultural production. More than half the women who head households in rural areas are among the poorest 20 per cent of the population.

Why are Ghana's rural people poor?

According to the Government’s poverty reduction strategy paper, low productivity and poorly functioning markets for agricultural outputs are among the main causes of rural poverty. Small-scale farmers lack the technologies and inputs, such as fertilizer and improved seed, that would increase yields. Population pressure leads to shorter fallow periods or even continuous cultivation in the densely inhabited Upper East and Upper West regions, causing soil erosion and loss of fertility. Land degradation poses a long-term threat to farmers’ livelihoods and incomes.

Only a small proportion of farmers have access to irrigation. Land ownership and land security are regulated by complex systems that vary widely. Many farmers lack rural infrastructure and equipment for storing, processing and marketing their products.

In order to overcome their vulnerability and food insecurity, poor rural populations need help in sustainably increasing their incomes. Good opportunities exist to link farmers to markets and to modernize agriculture. The rural private sector could play an important role in making farming a profitable business through access to financial services, farm inputs and linkages to agroprocessors and traders.

Source: IFAD