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

Agricultural Production in West Africa

Importance of Agriculture in Developing CountriesAgriculture 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. Some Cash Crops in West AfricaCocoa: 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 timber-producing 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.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 AfricaEven 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 productionClimate 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.

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 farmersCotton 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 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.

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