Political instability and agricultural policy dynamcis in Ghana

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Periodical article

Title:	Political instability and agricultural policy dynamcis in Ghana
Author:	Wayo Seini, Alhassan
Year:	2002
Periodical:	Verfassung und Recht in Übersee
Volume:	35
Issue:	3
Pages:	414-430
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Ghana
Subjects:	political stability agricultural policy
Abstract:	For several decades after independence from colonial rule, Ghana was plagued by political instability, which in turn influenced the direction of its agricultural policy. This paper gives a historical overview of Ghana's agricultural policy dynamics in response to the frequent changes in the political fortunes of of the country. Five distinct periods are distinguished: the pre-independence period (1874-1950), in which agricultural policies were geared mainly to export crops; the post-independence period, which was characterized by mass government participation in agriculture; the period of the late 1960s and early 1970s, when policies tended to encourage capitalistic means of agricultural production and marketing; the collapse of the economy in the late 1970s and the early 1980s; and the era of stabilization and structural adjustment from 1983. To these five periods could be added the present era of democratic dispensation, in which food security and poverty reduction has assumed central stage. Consistent with the critical role agriculture has to play in achieving these goals, the Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Development Strategy was formulated in 2001. Notes, ref., sum. (p. 354)