INSTITUTIONALIZING ECOLOGICAL ORGANIC AGRICULTURE IN GHANA

1. INSTITUTIONALIZING
ECOLOGICAL ORGANIC
AGRICULTURE IN GHANA
BY
EMELIA MONNEY
DIRECTORATE OF CROP SERVICES
MINISTRY OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, ACCRA, GHANA

2. Outline of Presentation
• Introduction,
• Research, training and extension
• Market development and value chain
• Networking and partnership
• Constraints and strategies to strengthen the ecological and organic
agriculture sector
• Conclusion and recommendations

3. Introduction

4. Government of Ghana Agriculture Sector
Sector-wide Approach to Agriculture Development
Stakeholders Include
State agencies whose activities affect agriculture development
Universities and Research, Ministries of Road and Highways, Trade and Industries
and their allied institutions, environmental protection agency, regional and district
administration, the financial sector, etc.
Private sector industry players
Framers, input dealers, service providers etc.
Non Governmental agencies
Donor agencies and international players
UN-FAO, FARA, GIZ-MOAP, USAID etc.

5. Government Agriculture Sector Policy and Plan
The national agenda takes into account African (CAADP, ECOWAP)
and Global (MDGs etc.) agriculture goals.
The Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (GSGDA)
prioritized modernization of agriculture as a pillar for the
socioeconomic development of the country.

6. Government Agriculture Sector Policy and Plan
The Food and Agriculture Sector Development
Policy (FASDEP II) elaborates the agriculture
priorities of the national agenda.
Medium Term Agriculture Sector Investment Plan
(METASIP, 2011-2015) sets out the medium term
activities.
There are six (6) policy objectives in the FASDEP II
and corresponding six (6) programmes with
outputs and activities in the METASIP.

7. Food and Agriculture Sector Policy – FASDEP II
Vision
Modernized agriculture sector leading to
Structural transformation of the economy evident in:
• Improved food security,
• Increase employment opportunities, and
• Significantly reduced poverty/wealth creation

8. Food and Agriculture Sector Policy –
FASDEP II
Six policy objectives
Food security, emergency preparedness, and reduced income
variability
Improved growth in incomes
Sustainable management of land and environment
Increased competitiveness and enhanced integration into
domestic and international markets
Application of science and technology in food and agriculture
development
Effective Institutional Coordination

9. • It is within this framework that institutionalizing of ecological organic
agriculture is currently taking place.
• Because it is sector-wide, we consider all the different sectors and
how they impact/contribute to EOA in Ghana

10. Research,
Training and
Extension

11. Research & Training
• Research in Ghana is undertaken in the
• Universities (University of Ghana, University of Development Studies,
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Biotechnology and
Nuclear Agricultural Research Institute of the Ghana Atomic Energy
Commission ….
• The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Crops Research
Institute, Animal Research Institute, Food Research Institute, Soils Research
Institute, Water Research Institute and others
• All these institutions contribute to knowledge development and
dissemination in general and some work is also being done in developing
and disseminating knowledge in ecological organic agriculture
• They also train middle and top level researchers, management for the
industry

12. Research & Training
• Some of the research work going on:
• The use of insect larvae to compost market waste – BINARI, GAEC
• Use of compost and charred rice husks in the production of various
vegetables (tomatoes, cocoyam leaves (kontomire), etc. – FOHCREC, U
of G,
• Evaluation of different organic soil amendments and their influence
on different commodities
• Livestock management under organic production systems
• ProEcoOrganic agriculture Farming systems research

13. Training & Extension
• Agricultural Colleges - Apart from the universities, middle level and
lower level training is offered at the diploma and certificate levels by
agricultural colleges and private institutions
• In-service training is also offered to build capacity of MoFA and
private extension service providers through seminars, workshops etc.
• Extension is provided mainly by the government’s Ministry of Food
and Agriculture. With extension officers stationed as close to the
farmer as possible within the communities. Some large-scale farms
and processing factories and NGOs also provide some private
extension for those they work directly with.

14. Market and Value
Chain
Development

15. Market & Value Chain Development
• Ghana’s agricultural produce targets both the domestic and export
markets.
• The government has adopted a value chain approach to commodity
development and there are many VC Committees promoting and
overseeing the development

16. Market & Value Chain Development
• With the exception of cocoa and a few others whose marketing is
directly controlled by the government, all these markets are private
sector led/organized and regulated by the Ministry of Trade and
Industries.
• Recent developments on the international markets e.g. certification
requirements for the export sector and food safety concerns have
impacted on especially export volumes and returns

17. Market & Value Chain Development
• Some interventions needed are
• Market research and development
• New product development, promotion and marketing
• Trade fairs/shows/negotiations

18. Networking
and
Partnership

19. Networking and Partnership
• There is ongoing collaboration between various entities in the organic
sector.
• A number of organic growers, exporters and grower associations that
have invested in and are promoting EOA development in the country
• Research organizations collaborating with other stakeholders to
develop new and innovative technologies for EOA development
• Organic Desk of MoFA supporting/ linking industry players to each
other
• Bio-Ghana platform that supports exporters’ participation in BioFach

20. Networking and Partnership
• GIZ-MOAP support to organic citrus growers and processors in the
central region of Ghana
• ProEcoOrganic (2013-16) project studying the productivity and
profitability of different farming systems in SSA.
• ProEcoOrganic Africa Project spearheading the mainstreaming of EOA
policy into government policy
• ProEcoOrganic Africa project being used to revitalize the Ghana
Ecological Organic Agriculture Platform.

21. Some Areas needing further intervention to
promote EOAI:
• Knowledge development and sharing,
• Human Resource Capacity Building
• In-service training for staff already engaged in agricultural activities
• EOA inclusion in curricular development
• Stakeholder capacity building
• Innovation to make some practices like composting and concoction
preparations for pest and disease control less laborious
• Market research, development and
• Entrepreneurial development

22. Some Constraints
• Within Government – The notion that EOA does not deliver on food security is still high,
as is in most research institutions.
• Research – combining Organic and conventional into sustainable better than organic
• Many equally important demands on scarce resources means less resources committed
to EOAI
• Undeveloped domestic markets for organic agriculture
• Unclear export markets – some organic produce exporters are looking to widen their
market access by selling on the domestic market.
• High certification costs
• Low capacity of producers
• Financing/marketing
• Mainstreaming the compilation of data and establishment of EOA Data Base in Ghana.

23. Strategies/opportunities to strengthen the
sector
• Strengthen private sector capacity to advocate for EOA
• Support the growth and thriving of EOA businesses and make them
attractive for investment

24. Conclusions
• Ecological organic agriculture holds much promise in Ghana in the
light of climate change and other environmental challenges.
• EOA can also contribute much to improve food security, promote
income generation and improved livelihoods.
• There is an already existing framework that EOA can be developed
within
• We need to protect, nurture and grow this sector for it to achieve the
anticipated benefits

25. Thank you