The effects of structural adjustment programs in the argicultural sector of Ghana

Abstract

This research will be focused on evaluating the impacts of Structural Adjustment Programs on the agricultural sector of Ghana. As Ghana was the first country to undergo adjustment programs in sub-Saharan Africa in its agriculture sector (Ahwoi, 2010). Also it is more often portrayed as the most successful country to undergo adjustment programs in Africa by World Bank and IMF, so it becomes very important to evaluate the performance of SAPs and present the actual picture. 1.2. Rationale of the Study: In addition to other things SAPs have made a constant GDP growth of 4-6 percent, a tremendous increase from an annual average of 1.5 percent in 1980-93. Ghana has been making positive rates of per capita income GDP growth of more than 2 percent a year (World Bank, 2010). These are some of the statistics which are proudly presented by World Bank and IMF as the portray SAPs as a success story in the agricultural sector of Ghana. The aim of this study is to investigate the impacts of SAPs and try to show the true performance of SAPs