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100
Agriculture
OVERVIEW
From Ghana’s total land area of 23.9 million hec-
tares, about 57% is suitable for agricultural purpos-
es. Agriculture contribution to GDP over the years
has shown a steady reduction from 35.4% in 2006 to
34.3 in 2007 and to 33.59% in 2008. The growth rate
of the sector however doesn‘t show a clear trend.
The growth rate reduced from 4.5% in 2006 to 4.3%
in 2007 and increased to 5.17% in 2008.
Cashew
20,423,939
Coffee
3,070,003
Yam
14,888,801
Exotic Vegetables
2,576,739
Pineapple
11,842,250
Mango
521,826
Pawpaw
334,453
Fish and Sea Food
61,005,335
Banana
12,717,079
Shea Nut
24,939,825
Maize
81,507
Product
Value (US$)
70,000,000
60,000,000
50,000,000
40,000,000
30,000,000
20,000,000
10,000,000
0
USD$
Cashew
Coffee
Sheanut
Maize
Yam
Exotic
Vegetables
Pineapple
Mango
Pawpaw
Fish &
Sea Food
Banana
The total volume of processed products exported in
2008 was 14,840,535 mt. Products exported during
the year included cocoa paste, baby food, wheat
floor, tomato paste, dried pepper, groundnut paste,
maize flour, yam flour, coconut oil, gari, prepared
coffee and dried, smoked and salted fish.
The country is classified into three main agriculture
zones. The forest vegetation zone consists of parts
of Western, Eastern, Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo and Volta
Regions. The northern savannah vegetation zone
includes the Upper East, Upper West and Northern
Region while the coastal savannah includes mainly
the Central, Greater Accra and parts of Volta Region.
The northern savannah zone is the largest agricul-
ture zone. Most of the nation’s supply of rice, mil-
let, sorghum, yam, tomatoes, cattle, sheep, goat
and cotton are grown in the region. In recent times,
mango and ostrich commercial farms are also gain-
ing footholds in the northern zone.
The coastal savannah is notable for rice, maize, cas-
sava, vegetables, sugar cane, mangos and coconut,
as well as livestock. Sweet potato and soybean
crops are viable in this agro–ecological zone, un-
der irrigation. The lower part of this zone is drained
by River Volta. Together with other streams and la-
goons, these water resources present opportunities
for fish farming or aquaculture.
In the forest zone where rainfall is plentiful, cocoa,
coffee, oil palm, cashew, and rubber are cultivated
as is the majority of plantain, banana and citrus sup-
plies crops. The major strengths of the sector include
Value of Export of
Selected Commodities for 2008
Main agricultural products