Agricultural export diversification, food security and living conditions of farmers in Southern Ghana

Increasing foreign exchange problems and the deteriorating prices of traditional export commodities in developing countries are leading agricultural policy makers and donor agencies to seek diversification in export crop production. In Ghana, horticultural crops such as pineapples, mangoes and papaya appear promising because of their high labour intensity and the expanding demand for fruits in industrialized nations. This book investigates the impact of the introduction of non-traditional horticultural exports on food security and livelihood of farm households in southern Ghana using a combination of econometric and mathematical programming modelling approaches. The results show that households engaged in export horticulture are better off than those that do not. Notwithstanding, the chronically poor households are structurally impeded from seizing the opportunities resulting from the export boom due to poor resource endowment and liquidity constraints. Horticultural exports as a source of livelihood among smallholder farmers thus depends on factors that narrow or widen the imperfections in rural markets. Specifically, access to local institutional services, technological know-how, policy environment, trends and stability in international markets and most importantly, their interplay with livelihood adopting strategies are the major determinants of success. The policy requirements include: establishment of more export-oriented agro-processing industries, improving infrastructure to enhance input and market access, encouraging the formation of farmer groups and strengthening of exporter-producer associations, and a policy review on arable land distribution.