Features
Organic farming: A national strategy for Ghana’s food strategy
The quiet crisis in the Ghanaian field
In many Ghanaian communities today, from the vegetable hubs of Akumadan to the grain belts of the Northern Region, farmers are being squeezed from both ends. On one side are the suffocating rising costs of imported inputs. Synthetic fertiliser prices that jump without warning and chemical pesticides that are not only expensive but often misused due to a lack of technical oversight. On the other side is the relentless pressure to produce in the face of exhausted soils, erratic rainfall patterns, and the emergence of aggressive new pest outbreaks like the Fall Armyworm.
The result is a quiet, systemic crisis; thus, our smallholder farmers are working harder and spending more of their meager capital on external inputs, yet they are struggling to secure stable yields or achieve decent profits.
Redefining organic: From boutique to backbone
In the current national conversation, organic farming is often misunderstood. It is frequently treated as a “boutique” label, something meant for the export shelves of Europe or the high-end health shops in suburban Accra. This narrow thinking is dangerous. Organic farming, properly understood, is not a niche lifestyle choice; it is a sophisticated biological system built around soil health, compost restoration, and integrated pest management.
For Ghana, this is not a fashionable trend; it is a vital National Resilience Strategy. If Ghana invests in organic and agroecological practices at scale, starting with decentralised compost production and credible safety standards, we can sever the cord of input vulnerability and rebuild our agricultural heritage from the ground up.
The problem: The trap of imported dependency
Ghana’s food production has become dangerously addicted to inputs we do not control. Our current model relies on a global supply chain that is increasingly volatile. Synthetic fertilisers and agro-chemicals are tethered to the price of natural gas and vulnerable to currency swings. When the Cedi fluctuates or global shipping is disrupted, the burden falls squarely on the Ghanaian farmer.
Organic approaches offer a practical escape from this dependency trap by shifting the center of productivity back to local Biological Capital: compost, green manure, and cover crops. These methods do not just reduce immediate costs; they treat the soil as a long-term asset. A nation that depends on imported fertility is always just one global crisis away from a hunger epidemic. By focusing on organic soil restoration, we transform the soil from a mere medium for chemicals into a living, self-sustaining engine of growth.
Climate change and the yield gap myth
One of the loudest arguments against organic farming is the question: “Can it produce enough?” Critics point to a potential yield drop during the transition phase from chemical-heavy systems. However, in the context of the climate crisis, this argument is incomplete.
Most of Ghana’s farming is rain-fed. As our rainy seasons become more unpredictable, synthetic-heavy soils, which are often low in organic matter, struggle to retain moisture. In contrast, organic systems perform significantly better under drought conditions. Carbon-rich, composted soil acts like a sponge, holding water longer and keeping crops alive during dry spells.
A slightly lower yield that is stable, resilient, and cheaper to produce is far better for a Ghanaian farmer’s pocket than a high yield that requires expensive chemicals and collapses entirely when the rains fail. Stability is the true measure of food security, not just peak volume.
Public health: The farm-to-table connection
The pressure to produce market-perfect vegetables for consumers in Kumasi or Accra often leads to the cocktail effect, where farmers mix multiple high-toxicity pesticides to ensure no insect damage is visible. This carries hidden, staggering costs: acute respiratory illnesses for farmers, long-term hospital visits for consumers, and a growing public mistrust in local produce.
Organic practices, such as biological pest control and crop rotation, reduce the reliance on these heavy chemical sprays. When we support organic-by-practice farming, we are investing in a preventive healthcare strategy. We protect the farmer in the field and the Ghanaian family at the dinner table.
The economic multiplier: Jobs in the green economy
Scaling organic farming creates a new value chain that could employ thousands of youth. Unlike imported fertilisers, compost and bio-pesticides must be produced locally.
• The compost economy: Establishing municipal organic waste processing plants creates jobs in waste collection, processing, and distribution.
• Bio-inputs: Local entrepreneurs can lead the way in producing botanical extracts and neem-based bio-pesticides, keeping money circulating within the Ghanaian economy rather than sending it abroad to multinational chemical firms.
A five-point action plan for a greener Ghana
To move organic farming from the fringe to the mainstream, we need a “who-does-what” roadmap that moves beyond rhetoric into institutional action:
- Scale up compost as national infrastructure
Municipal assemblies, in partnership with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), must prioritise the conversion of city organic waste into high-quality compost. We should establish regional compost hubs near major farming belts. Compost should be treated with the same importance as roads or electricity for it is fundamental infrastructure of food security. - Re-tooling extension services
The current extension model is often geared toward chemical-intensive agriculture. MoFA extension officers must be retrained to provide practical, hands-on modules for farmers. This includes teaching Indigenous Microorganisms (IMO) collection, advanced composting techniques, and multi-cropping strategies that naturally suppress pests. - Build truth-in-labelling and consumer trust
We need the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) and the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to establish credible, low-cost certification systems. We don’t need expensive international labels; we need a Verified Safe or Organic-by-Practice seal that allows a consumer at Agbogbloshie market to buy with confidence, knowing the produce is free from toxic residues. - Leverage institutional procurement
The government is one of the biggest food buyers in the country. The Ghana School Feeding Programme and government hospitals should pilot sourcing from verified organic-by-practice farms. This provides a guaranteed market and a price floor for farmers who take the risk to transition away from chemicals. - Incentives for the next generation
Organic farming is high-knowledge farming. We must provide small grants or low-interest Green Credits for youth-led cooperatives. If we give young graduates the tools to start Soil Clinics or composting businesses, we make agriculture attractive, modern, and profitable.
Conclusion: The choice before us
Organic farming is not a luxury for the wealthy; it is a strategy for national survival. It is the path toward a Ghana that is less dependent on the whims of global markets and more reliant on the strength of its own ecological intelligence.
Ghana must decide now! Will we keep chasing short-term productivity through expensive, imported dependency? Or will we build a lasting food system through soil restoration and biological wisdom? The sooner we treat our soil as a living national asset, the sooner we can secure a food system that truly serves all Ghanaians. The time to transition is not when the next crisis hits; the time to transition is now.
By Felicia Bonnah Quansah
Attention-Deficit or Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is often mistaken for laziness or indiscipline. In consulting rooms across Accra and in reports from school teachers, the pattern repeats: children who are bright but forgetful, parents who feel helpless, teachers who see incompleteness.
Research is clear-Barkley (2015) and others describe ADHD as a difference in the brain’s regulation of alertness, impulse and working memory, not a lack of effort.
The family’s role begins with structure. Regular sleep, predictable meal and homework times, and a simple visual list (uniform → books → water → corridor) provide the external scaffolding of these children need. Praise what is completed—“You opened the book and wrote the first sentence”-instead of rebuking what is missing.
Schools can help by seating the child front-row and centre, giving short written plus verbal instructions, allowing brief movement breaks, using quiet nonverbal cues and, where possible, grading effort and method as well as neatness. These adjustments reduce conflict and raise submission rates without lowering standards.
Couples and caregivers should share roles: one grounds, one pivots, and both protect rest. Shame-“bad parenting, bad child”-needs replacing with fact: different wiring, needs scaffolding.
Outcomes improve not by promises of perfection but by daily routines, clear limits and warmed connection. One homework slot kept, one instruction chunked, one calm repair after blurting-these small wins shift the family climate and let the child be seen beyond the label.
Resource
• CPAC (award-winning Mental Health and Counselling Facility): 0559850604 / 0551428486
Source: REV. COUNSELLOR PRINCE OFFEI’s insights on special needs support, relationships, and mental health in Ghana. He is a leading mental health professional, lecturer, ADR Expert/Arbitrator, renowned author, and marriage counsellor at COUNSELLOR PRINCE & ASSOCIATES CONSULT (CPAC COUNSELLOR TRAINING INSTITUTE) – 0551428486 /0559850604.
WEBSITES:
https://princeoffei22.wixsite.com/author
https://princeoffei22.wixsite.com/website
After two weeks of hectic activity up north, I drove to the Tamale airport, parked the car at the Civil Aviation car park as usual, paid the usual parking fee and boarded the plane for Accra.
Over the last two weeks, I had shuffled between three sites where work was close to completion.
One was a seed warehouse, where farmers would come and pick up good quality maize, sorghum and other planting material.
The other was a health facility for new mothers, where they were given basic training on good nutrition and small scale business.
And the third was a set of big boreholes for three farming communities.
The projects usually ran on schedule, but a good deal of time was spent building rapport with the local people, to ensure that they would be well patronised and maintained.
It was great to be working in a situation where one’s work was well appreciated. But it certainly involved a lot of work, and proactivity. And I made sure that I recorded updates online before going to bed in the evening.
When the plane took off, my mind shifted to issues in Accra, the big city. The young guys at my office had done some good work. They had secured five or six houses on a row in a good part of the city, and were close to securing the last.
When we got this property, unusually, Abena greeted them casually, and appeared to be comfortable in the guy’s company.
I was quite disappointed to hear that, because until the last few weeks, it seemed as if Abena and I were heading in a good direction. Apart from the affection I had for her, I liked her family. I decided to take it easy, and allow things to fall in whatever direction.
Normally I would take a taxi to her house from the airport, and pick her up to my place. This time I went to my sisters’ joint, where they sat by me while I enjoyed a drink and a good meal.
“So Little Brother,” Sister Beesiwa said, “what is it we are hearing about our wife-to-be?”
“When did you conclude that she was your wife-to-be? And what have you heard? I’ve only heard a couple of whispers. Ebo and Nana Kwame called to say that they have seen her in the company of—”
“Well said Little Brother,” Sister Baaba said. “By the way, Nana Kwame called an hour ago to ask if you had arrived because he could not reach you. Someone had told him that Jennifer had boasted to someone that she had connected Abena to a wealthy guy who would take care of her.”
I was beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. So I think Jennifer fed her with false stories about me in order to get her to move to the Ampadu guy. Jennifer must have been well compensated for her efforts.
“In that case,” Sister Beesiwa said, “you should be glad that Abena is out of your way. She is easily swayed. Anyone who would make a relationship decision based on a friend’s instigation lacks good sense. I hope the guy is as wealthy as they say?”
“Who gets wealthy running a supermarket chain in Ghana?” Sister Baaba said. “Our supermarkets sell mostly imported products. Look at the foreign exchange rate. And remember that Ghanaians buy second-hand shoes and clothes. Supermarkets are not good business here. Perhaps they are showing off that they are wealthy, but in reality they are not doing so well.”
“Amen to that,” I said. “I’m beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. So I think Jennifer fed her with false stories about me in order to get her to move to the Ampadu guy. Jennifer must have been well compensated for her efforts.”
She said that David Forson was only an agricultural extension worker in the north who did not have the resources to take care of a beautiful girl like her. And apart from being wealthy, the guy comes from an influential family, so Abena had done much better leaving a miserable civil servant like you for him.
“Amen to that,” I said. “I’m beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. We would be able to sell all five houses to one big corporate customer, and we had already spoken to a property dealer who was trying to find a buyer in order to get a good commission.
That was going to be my biggest break. I had asked the boys to look for a large tract of land on the outskirts of the city where we could develop our own set of buildings, blocks of storey houses and upscale apartments. Things were going according to plan, and I was quietly excited. However, things were not going so well regarding my relationship with Abena.
My buddies Ebo and Nana Kwame had called to say that they met Abena and her friend Jennifer enjoying lunch with a guy, and Ebo believed that Jennifer was ‘promoting’ an affair between Jennifer and the guy. They were of the view that the promotion seemed to be going in the guy’s favour, because only an agricultural extension worker in the north who did not have the resources to take care of a beautiful girl like her.
And apart from being wealthy, the guy comes from an influential family, so Abena had done much better leaving a miserable civil servant like you for him.
“As I’ve already said, I will stop by her place, but I will mind my own business from now. Hey, let’s talk family. How are our parents? And my brothers-in-law? And my nephews and nieces? Why don’t we meet on Sunday? I’m going to drop my bags at my place, and go to see Mama and Dad.”
