What is Ghana like?Currently, trade between villages and regions is prevalent in across the nation; Ghanaians are very community oriented. Unfortunately, there is a lot of food waste as a result of inability to store their food. Farmers’ profits are then squeezed by this instability within the system
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Ghanaian Demographics
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Ghanain AgricultureCommon Soil Types: Clay Loam or Sandy Loam
Low organic matter content in soils; more susceptible to erosion Most Common Crops: Maize, Rice, Cowpea, Cassava, Yams, Sorghum, Tomatoes, Onion, Okra, Peanuts, Shea Nuts, and Eggplant Ghana's main export crop is Cocoa beans; they are the second-largest producer in the world. |
Ghanaian Labor ForceGhana has one of the largest percentages of agricultural labor forces in the world.
Only about 2% of the labor force in United States is composed of agricultural workers, while over 55% of the work force is in agriculture in Ghana. Note: The GapMinder graphic below compares Ghana's agricultural labor force to the rest of world. |
Rainfall in GhanaCape Coast University conducted a 19 year rainfall study of the annual rainfall pattern of the rainy seasons in Ghana:
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Climate & Irrigation in GhanaRainfall in Ghana is unpredictable because each year the Tropical Rain Belt swings back and forth between the northern and southern tropics.
Northern Ghana is subject to heavy rainfall and then long dry spells associated with higher temperature. This wreaks havoc on crop production and has forced natives to migrate. Both Formal (governmental resourced) irrigation and Informal Irrigation (i.e. Water Use Association WUA) is used. |
Growing Season in GhanaThe growing season in Ghana is very limited to the wet season months which range from May to December. The main food staple crop, Maize is generally harvested in early October, leaving long expanses of time where freshly harvested food is scarce.
This means that from December until May, food must either be stored or traded. Note: In the Planting/Harvesting Calendar graphic below, the months from Jan-May are not displayed. These months are empty. |