Aid and Agriculture

411 Pages·2017·5.22 MB·English

Aid and Agriculture

A constructivist approach to a political economy analysis of sustainable
agriculture in Ghana

Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree Doctor of Philosophy (Dr. phil.) at the
Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources,
Albert-Ludwigs-Universität
Freiburg im Breisgau

Jasmin Marston
2017
Dean: Prof. Dr. Tim Freytag
1st Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Glaser
2nd Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Tim Freytag
2nd Reviewer: Prof. Dr. Michael Pregernig

Date of thesis defense:12.06.2018
In memory of:
Karl Wendelin Klober and Uwe Josef Kristen
(06.11.1928-26.09.2015) (22.03.1960-11.11.2016)
Acknowledgements i
Acknowledgements
This study has been inspired and supported by a wide array of individuals and institutions that my
gratitude extends to. The quality of research benefited tremendously from the support given by the
members of the Department of Physical Geography and Faculty of Environment and Natural
Resources at the University of Freiburg (im Breisgau, Germany). Specifically I would like to thank
Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Glaser, Prof. Dr. Tim Freytag, Prof. Dr. Michael Pregernig, as well as the entire
Physical Geography team, for the trust and support they have given me at crucial parts of this study.
Likewise I am deeply grateful for the support extended through the UrbanFoodPlus project, which
is jointly funded by the Bundesministerium für Wirtschafltiche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung
(BMZ, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development), Germany, and the
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF, Federal Ministry of Education and Research),
Germany. In particular I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Axel Drescher, who was the Principle
Investigator and a crucial supporter throughout the ups and downs I encountered as a researcher.
Furthermore, Dr. Pay Drechsel and Prof. Dr. Andreas Buerkert established and enabled cooperation
with local partner organizations such as the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in
Accra, and the University of Development Studies in Tamale. Particular appreciation is extended to
the staff and leadership of the IWMI, including Dr. Olufunke Cofie and Dr. Philip Amoah that made
the beginning weeks in Accra substantially easier.
I am also grateful for the guidance extended by Prof. Dr. Abena Busia during the preparation
phase, through the extensive recommendations for reading material on the history of Ghana. Also
critical for the preparation of the field visit was Francisco Mari at Brot für die Welt, who put me in
contact with staff of the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit/ German Development
Cooperation (GIZ) that led me to the most important supporters within Ghana: Dr. Dirk-Florent Thies
and Dr. Ernst Mill. These men in turn connected me to a wide range of supportive staff of various
Development Partners as well as within the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. At the Unites States
Agency for International Development (USAID) special thanks must be extended to Brian Conklin,
Michael Dockrey, Walter Nuñez Rodriguez and Allan Pineda whose expertise, trust and continued
support was essential to achieve the depth of analysis in this study. I also want to highlight the
importance of Ghanaian staff working within Development Partner that represented an intuitional
memory and often another perspective on aid projects in the sector. I am deeply grateful for the
support extended by Bloomfield C. Attipoe, Atta-Agyepong and Kofi Biney.
Moreover, I sincerely appreciate the generous support with the time and trust of a great number of
civil servants of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) in particular and the Ministry of
Finance (MoF). I wish to particularly thank the former Deputy Minister Dr. Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan,
Directors Madam Angela Mercy Dannson and Daniel Ohmeng Boateng, as well as Ohene Damptey of
the national office of the MoFA. Their patience, knowledge, honesty and encouragement were
ii Acknowledgements
invaluable to this research. During my stay in the Northern Region it was Director
Boakye Acheampong and his Monitoring and Evaluation Officer Peter Claver Anyeembey that
enabled me to contact and interview Regional, Metropolitan and District level staff of the MoFA in the
region. At the Ministry of Finance I must thank Directors Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu and
Samuel Danquah Arkhurst, as well as Seidu Dawdi Adams, Kwame Gyesaw and Joseph Antwi for
their time, insights and sharing of information that was crucial to corroborate the ideational data with
material, numerical evidence. Similarly, it was due to the help of Madam Lena Otto at Local
Government Services that deeply strengthened my understanding around the key issue of
decentralization. Furthermore, I owe a great debt of gratitude to Kofi Menkah for his interest, time and
passionate support, particularly by establishing contact and organizing meetings with numerous
Members of Parliament. There is a long list of unnamed civil servants within Ghana who I’m deeply
indebted to for their relentless patience, hospitality and trust also.
I benefitted greatly from discussion with a number of excellent academics at the University of
Development Studies (UDS), as well as the University of Ghana in Legon. In particular, I would like
to thank Prof. Dean Amin Alhassan, Prof.Saa Dittoh, Prof. Justice Bawole,
Dr. Nana Akua Anyidoho, Dr. Annabella Osei-Tutu (Opare-Henaku), as well as Dr. Imogen
Bellwood-Howard (Institute of Development Studies) and Siera Vercillo (Western University). The
greatest lessons on the reality of farmers, however, were taught to me by Miles Apobona Adongo.
Their combined interest, passion and patience were invaluable during the time in Ghana and thereafter.
Last, but most importantly the thesis was only finished through the relentless and patient support
of friends and colleagues including Jana Seidel, Jennifer Smith, Marites & Glenn Antonio,
Christian Winger, Viktoria Klass, Lorenzo Uribe, Lea Mohnen, Tomas Canosa, Monika Dean,
Dr. Hanna Karg, Obehi Iziduh, Patrick Ansah, Finola Mohan, and Swantje Oldörp. Finally, much
credit and gratitude must extend to Dorit Barlevy and Mathilde Erfurt for their great editorial and
organizational support of this thesis. Thank you very much and Medase pa pa pa!
Abstract iii
Abstract
This empirical research sets out to illuminate political, economic and ideational influences on the
1
agricultural sector of Ghana. Particular attention is paid to the role of governmental aid agencies,
known as Development Partners (DPs), on policy, budget and implementation development decisions.
2
Initially efforts were also made to understand the status and potential of sustainable agriculture in
Ghana, but downgraded in importance, as little of it exists and definitions differ. The traditional foci of
a Political Economy Analysis (PEA), which are chiefly concerned with the distribution of power and
wealth within a society or a sector, are expanded through a constructivist approach, which is interested
in ideational factors resulting out of the social and historical fabric humans are interwoven in.
Ontologically the study then is set on the understanding that our world is socially and historically
constructed. This constructivist lens led to the inquiry into influential ideas, i.e. expectations of
agricultural sector stakeholders for agricultural development, perceptions on policy and project
ownership, as well as their definitions of sustainability among other thing. To elucidate the origins and
vicissitudes of the most influential ideas presently important in the sector, the analysis is embedded in
a rich historical context. This is in line with a Hegelian approach, which in general values history as
important and significant to the understanding of the current state of development.
The study follows an applied research question as well as an inter-disciplinary approach,
combining theories of development studies, political science, economic history and anthropology, to
analyze the agricultural sector and the role of aid within it. Epistemologically it then follows a
constitutive rather than causal logic. Using qualitative methods, 260 semi-structured interviews, four
focus group discussions and a plethora of participatory observations were collected over an
uninterrupted 16-months field research visit in Ghana between September 2015 and December 2016.
After an initial exploratory phase the research turned descriptive, aiming at uncovering what we must
understand about the agricultural sector in Ghana before we know what to do. Primary data was
expanded by budgetary data from 1999-2016, acquired via Parliamentary Hansards and Select
3
Committee Reports. While this study aims at uncovering the ideational factors that guide the policy
and budget decision, the implementation level was added to provide a holistic and realistic analysis of
the agricultural sector.
While the structure and functioning of institutions in the sector were well captured, the main
finding is the severely dilapidate state of agricultural data systems present in Ghana (and elsewhere on

1
In this study the agricultural sector is focused on the crops and livestock sector under the hospice of the
Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA). The Cocoa sector is Ghana largest agricultural commodity and
managed separately (through the Cocobod) and could not be included.
2
Sustainable agriculture is defined as any holistic approach, considering the wider natural environment during
food production. Examples include organic agriculture, Permaculture or Agroecology.
3
A Hansard is the edited verbatim report of proceedings and debates of the Parliament of Ghana. The Select
Committee refers to the Select Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs and their reports.
iv Abstract
the continent), making a final evaluation of the sector and the role of aid within it, impossible. The
most urgent recommendation than is the funding of data collection and research initiative, so as to
actually support evidence-based decision-making. In this regard the involvement of local researcher is
vital. Supporting the decentralization effort and hence civil servants on the district level, could
simultaneously improve the quality of the data systems as well as strengthen democracy in Ghana.
Power distribution within the agricultural sector continues to be slanted towards the Development
Partners, which have supplied on average 60 percent of the agricultural budget between 1999 and
2016. Ghanaians most often describe the overall situation with the saying: “He who pays the piper
calls the tune.” While the Government of Ghana (GoG) has been funding the wages and salaries of
civil servants, DPs have been paying for the running and implementation projects and programs in the
sector. With almost 100 different DP initiatives in 2016, undertaken by 12 active DPs, donor
coordination remains difficult, or impossible, as some DPs pointed out. This issue is intensified by the
lack of ownership and trust towards the local government, as decision on aid objectives are largely still
made in headquarters and capitals abroad. Presently popular are neoliberal approach that focus on the
private sector as the panacea to development. This shift away from government supported agricultural
activities can be traced back to the implementation of the first Structural Adjustment Program (SAP)
on the continent by 1983 in Ghana. The heavy reliance on outside funding and hence ideas, has led to
a neglect of local farming knowledge and a deterioration of trust between smallholder farmers and
other actors in the sector, as farmers are mostly perceived as uneducated and stubborn. Similarly
fraught is the relationship between ministries responsible for the sector (i.e. MoFA) and DPs, as well
as the ministries between each other, which are often operating in competitive silos. The politicization
of the civil service in Ghana is a result of a highly competitive, de facto two-party state that has not
shrugged away from playing up ethnic affiliation to garner votes and extend favors. The abuse of
powers pertaining to the misuse of public funds, was in parts explained by a kind ‘Robin-Hood’
syndrome, as “We still see that the master has everything”, as a Ghanaian academic phrased it (No.
168).
This study hopes to contribute to and promote transparent, reflexive and inter-disciplinary research
that provides informed analyses of development issues present in Ghana and elsewhere. It also hopes
to highlight the importance of ideational factors (e.g. religious beliefs, societal norms, local narratives)
as a pivotal part in developmental questions in particular, and social science inquiries in general.
Future research should then aim at the collaboration of anthropologists, behavioral economist and
psychologists to advance the field of development studies, involve more local researchers and promote
qualitative methods that allow a better understanding on ideational influences.
Table of Contents v
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. i
Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. iii
Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................... v
List of figures ....................................................................................................................................... vii
List of tables ........................................................................................................................................ viii
List of boxes........................................................................................................................................... ix
Abbreviations ......................................................................................................................................... x
Timeline of Ghana’s historic events .................................................................................................. xiv
Part I: General Theories and Histories ............................................................................................... 1
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1. The state of sustainable development - food, forests, trade and aidFehler! Textmarke nicht definiert.
1.2. The case of Ghana - why it matters and how it can contributeFehler! Textmarke nicht definiert.
1.3. A reader’s guide ........................................................ Fehler! Textmarke nicht definiert.
2. Aid & agriculture - development histories and critical reflections ............................................. 13
2.1. What is development aid? ............................................................................................... 13
2.2. The aims of aid – politics vs. progress? .......................................................................... 24
2.3. Food security, agriculture and aid ................................................................................... 29
2.4. Development Partnerships in Ghanaian agriculture sector ............................................. 35
3. A constructivist approach to a political economy analysis in the developing country context ... 56
3.1. The rise and fall of ideational approaches in the political sciences ................................ 57
3.2. Ideational influences on institutions, agents and structure.............................................. 62
3.3. Political economy analyses in the developing country context ...................................... 66
4. Evolution of economic ideas in the West and their influence on rest ......................................... 85
4.1. Origins of neoliberal capitalism – the ideas of Adam Smith .......................................... 86
4.2. The cradle of ‘free trade’, to its disappearance and re-emergence................................ 101
4.3. The aftermath of the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) ............................................... 107
4.4. The EPAs or free trade by other means ........................................................................ 109
4.5. Agricultural development ideas for Sub-Saharan Africa .............................................. 115
5. Power, politics and agriculture– the shaping and re-shaping of Ghana .................................... 128
5.1. European encounters on the Gold Coast ....................................................................... 139
5.2. Effect of colonialism: economic, social and psychological .......................................... 155
5.3. The road to independence (1940s-1950s) ..................................................................... 158
th
5.4. 6 of March 1957 – The birth of the Black-Star of Africa ........................................... 163
5.5. General Acheampong & Operation Feed Yourself (OFY) (1972-1978) ...................... 175
5.6. JJ Rawlings and the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) (1981-1992) ...... 181
th
5.7. The 4 Republic and Ghana Today (1992-2017) .......................................................... 184
5.8. Movin’ on up? Ghana as a Lower Middle Income Country (2010-2017) .................... 196
5.9. Current developments and conclusions in the year 2017 .............................................. 205
Part II: Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 209
6. Nature and relation of ideational research methods in development studies ............................ 209
6.1. Research design and additional concerns...................................................................... 211
6.2. Preparation - On the importance of history and network .............................................. 212
vi Table of Contents
7. Qualitative research - semi-structured interviews ...................................................................... 213
7.1. Data acquisition -process and practicalities ................................................................... 215
7.2. The Interviews ............................................................................................................... 220
7.3. Data Analysis ................................................................................................................. 232
7.4. Summary notes and lessons learned .............................................................................. 240
8. On data reliability and dependability in Ghana.......................................................................... 242
8.1. Census of Agriculture .................................................................................................... 245
8.2. Other sources for agricultural data ................................................................................ 247
Part III: Results and Discussion ....................................................................................................... 255
9. Policy, Budget, and Implementation .......................................................................................... 256
9.1. Overall context to remember ......................................................................................... 260
9.2. Main stakeholders .......................................................................................................... 262
10. MoFA Budget – the financing of the agricultural sector in Ghana ............................................ 269
10.1. The budget process ........................................................................................................ 275
10.2. Obligations and deviations ............................................................................................ 284
10.3. Effectiveness and appropriateness ................................................................................. 287
11. Implementation - from Decentralization to Donor Disarray ...................................................... 297
11.1. Organizational Structure of Decentralization ................................................................ 298
11.2. Agriculture Extension Services ..................................................................................... 308
11.3. The private sector and DP promoted policies ................................................................ 312
11.4. Donor Disarray and USAID .......................................................................................... 317
12. Perception about Farmer and other hurdles to agricultural growth ............................................ 325
12.1. Soil and sustainability .................................................................................................... 331
12.2. Urban Agriculture .......................................................................................................... 334
13. Legal frameworks, power and the production paradigm – reflection on results ........................ 337
Part IV: Conclusion and Outlook ..................................................................................................... 343
14. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 343
15. Outlook and Reconciliation ....................................................................................................... 348
Cartoon................................................................................................................................................ 355
Appendix 1: Transcript of Interview samples ................................................................................. 357
Appendix 2: Positions and anonymized titles of interviewees ........................................................ 362
References ........................................................................................................................................... 373
List of figures vii
List of figures
Figure 1: Thesis structure .................................................................................................. 11
Figure 2: ODA between 1960 and 2010 ............................................................................ 18
Figure 3: Components of DAC Donor’s Net ODA from 2000 to 2015 ............................ 20
Figure 4: Net ODA in 2015 of OECD countries ............................................................... 21
Figure 5: Net ODA in 2015 as a percentage of GNI ......................................................... 21
Figure 6: ODA to Africa: Bilateral donors; 1970-2013 in US$ billion ............................. 23
Figure 7: ODA to Africa: Multilateral Donors; 1970-2013 in US$ billion ....................... 23
Figure 8: Total US. Food Aid to Ghana; 1965-1994 in US$ millions ............................... 34
Figure 9: Historical perspective: ODA to Ghana in 1996 ................................................. 38
Figure 10: ODA to Africa by Sector; 1996-2013 as percentage ....................................... 39
Figure 11: ODA to Africa: Economic & Production Sector.............................................. 40
Figure 12: Food Price Index of the FAO, 1961-2017 ........................................................ 40
Figure 13: Total and per capital agricultural production 1961-2005 ................................. 42
Figure 14: Four countries at risk of famine in 2017 .......................................................... 50
Figure 15: Key Concepts of PEA within an ideational approach ...................................... 62
Figure 16: Stage 2: Understanding Organizations, Institutions and Actors ...................... 69
Figure 17: Composition of EU agricultural exports in 2013 ........................................... 108
Figure 18: Map of Ghana ................................................................................................ 130
Figure 19: Monthly average temperature & rainfall; 1960-1990 .................................... 131
Figure 20: Population distribution in percent for 10 Regions of Ghana .......................... 133
Figure 21 Major Language Groups in Ghana .................................................................. 135
Figure 22: Agro-ecological zones in Ghana .................................................................... 137
Figure 23: Historical Data for Real Gold Prices (per ounce); 1915 -2017 ...................... 198
Figure 24: Real Gold Prices (US$): Ten year daily average; 2007-2017 ........................ 198
Figure 25: Crude Oil Prices (US$); 2007-2017; Daily Chart .......................................... 199
Figure 26: Crude Oil Prices (US$)- 70 Year Historical Chart ......................................... 199
Figure 27: U.S. Rice, Poultry and Peanut Butter Billboard in Accra .............................. 205
Figure 28: Total Interviews ............................................................................................. 221
Figure 29: Civil Servants ................................................................................................. 221
Figure 30: Development Partners .................................................................................... 223
Figure 31: Pillars of Analysis for the State of Agriculture in Ghana .............................. 256
Figure 32: Agricultural Stakeholders in Ghana ............................................................... 263
Figure 33: MoFA Organizational Chart .......................................................................... 264
Figure 34: Ministry of Finance organizational structure ................................................. 269
Figure 35: MoFA Expenditure 2000-2015 ...................................................................... 279
Figure 36: Share of Agriculture in Government Expenditure 1980-1995 ....................... 281
Figure 37: DPs contribution to Total Expenditure & Development Budget ................... 282
Figure 38: Cartoon conclusion "Towing Aid" ................................................................. 356