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  Location

  Ghana is situated on the west coast of Africa with a total area of 238,540
km2. The country has a north-south extent of about 670 km and a
maximum east-west extent of about 560 km. It borders the Ivory Coast
Cameroon to the west, Burkina Faso in the north and Togo to the east. Ghana has a
Egypt Ethiopia tropical climate. The eastern coastal belt is warm and comparatively dry;
Ghana Kenya the southwest corner, hot and humid; and the north, hot and dry.
Madagascar
South Africa Agricultural sector
Tanzania
Tunisia Uganda Agriculture is Ghana's most important economic sector, employing
Zambia almost two thirds of the population and contributing half of GDP and
export earnings (IFOAM 2003). The country produces a variety of
crops, including cocoa, maize, yam, palm oil, coffee, rubber, and timber.
 Smallholder farms dominate the agricultural sector, accounting for about
80 percent of total production.
Bangladesh Overview of organic farming
China India
Indonesia Iran As in most West African countries, the organic sector in Ghana is still
Japan relatively underdeveloped. About 19,132 hectares of land are under
Malaysia organic cultivation, which accounts for 0.13 % of the total agricultural
Philippines area in Ghana (IFOAM & FiBL 2006). These numbers including fully
South Korea Sri converted land as well as ³in conversion´ land area have been growing
Lanka Thailand substantially in recent years. The whole region has a potential for
Vietnam developing a formal certified sector, especially with regard to tropical
fruit and palm oil. Since Ghana does not have any significant domestic
market for organic produce, the future development relies on organic

 trading links being established to export markets, particularly in Europe.

 Key organic products

Ghana¶s main organic export commodities are palm oil and fresh fruits.
Argentina The certification of farms already using organic methods makes progress
Bolivia Brazil in these markets. Other key organic products include cocoa, bananas,
Chile cashews, culinary herbs, cereals, vegetables, cotton and shea butter
Colombia (IFOAM 2003). Ghanaian NGOs and farmers groups promote the
Ecuador expansion of organic production in the existing product range as well as
Mexico in new sectors. Those indigenous groups are active in developing and
Paraguay Peru disseminating improved organic farming methods.
 Uruguay The network
Venezuela
The Ghana Organic Agriculture Network (GOAN) is the main grouping
of organic NGOs and trade associations, which is working actively with
concerned organisations such as ITC, HDRA, DfiD and PAN-UK in
developing the organic sector in the country. It has about 150 member
groups and organisations, representing a thousand individual members.

With the assistance of HDRA and PAN-UK, GOAN in 1995 established

an agriculture centre to provide information, training and advice on
organic agriculture practices. It also has links with research institutes to
examine alternative methods of pest control, particularly for cocoa, oil
palm cotton, cereals and fruit vegetables.

Coordinator: Samuel Adimado

GOAN Secretariat
PO Box 6342
Kumasi, Ghana
Tel/Fax: 00 233 51 20954
Email: goan@wwwplus.com
Website:
http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/international_programme/ip_goan.php

External Support

The Ghana organic agriculture sector has been receiving support from
the following external organisations amongst others:

International Trade Centre

Swiss Import Promotion Programme
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

References

xp IFOAM & FiBL (2006): The World of Organic Agriculture.

Statistics and Emerging Trends 2006. International Federation of
Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), Bonn & Research
Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, Frick, pp. 27±35.
xp IFOAM (2003): Organic and Like-Minded Movements in Africa.
International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements
(IFOAM), Bonn, pp.102±108.

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