Farmers without alternative jobs become poor – Report



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Farmers without alternative jobs are becoming poorer, announced a new report released by the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP).

According to the report, only 17 percent of Ghana's farmers are engaged in non-agricultural work. This means that most farmers, especially in Ghana, are highly dependent on the harvesting and harvesting routine. To this end, most of these farmers are poor.

PEP calls for a review of Ghana's agricultural policies, such as Planting to feed and create jobs, so as to give farmers alternative jobs outside of traditional agriculture.

Senior Project Researcher and Senior Lecturer at the University of Development Studies (UDS), DR. Paul Kwame Nkebe speaking to JoyBusiness said:

"We say that it is necessary that agricultural policies incorporate measures to promote off-farm work in order to increase both agricultural market participation and marketing."

According to the report, more than 90% of rural households are highly dependent on agriculture. However, the long dry season, particularly in northern Ghana, means that farms remain unused for about seven months a year.

It's here that non-farm jobs for farmers come to play.

One of the main recommendations of the commission was that the government review its planting policy for food and employment to include nonfarm employment programs for farmers. The report says it could speed up the marketing of farm products across the county.

In the meantime, the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP) team has submitted this policy note to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture for further discussion.

Poverty in Ghana is usually a rural phenomenon. About 37.9% of rural households are poor, compared with 10.6% of urban households.

In addition, 78% of national poverty is in rural areas.

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