Rethinking Persistent Poverty in Northern Ghana: The Primacy of Policy and Politics over Geography

Abstract

The Ghanaian economy has long been characterized by the persistence of regional income inequalities along a north-south divide, where poverty remains disproportionately concentrated in the northern part of the country. In contrast to much of the extant literature, which explains this phenomenon in terms of the relatively unfavorable geography in the north vis-a-vis the south, this article suggests the need to understand this problem as the product of the exportbiased orientation of agricultural policy and the relative neglect of the agricultural products in which the north has comparative advantage in producing. The Ghanaian experience suggests that relying on migration and other redistributionist measures as the means to overcome spatial poverty traps can be problematic not only for regions that are not well connected to those prosperous parts of a country but also for those that are fully connected through adverse forms of inclusion.

Arthropod Communities in Urban Agricultural Production Systems under Different Irrigation Sources in the Northern Region of Ghana

“…Notwithstanding, Tamale has the least available groundwater in the entire country due to its highly weathered soils that have a high water permeability and reduce the storage capacity of aquifers [ 20 ]. The region is the poorest in Ghana [ 21 ], and tap water is available to just about 50% of the urban dwellers [ 22 ]. In this context, UPA farmers resort to rainwater, tap water, well water, dam water, and municipal wastewater to irrigate crops depending on its proximity or availability.…”

Competitive clientelism, donors and the politics of social protection uptake in Ghana

“…In this context, most public investments are undertaken not with the objective of achieving inclusive development, but with short-term political considerations in mind. One result has been the challenge of combating spatial inequalities, not least as electoral pressures tend to encourage the geographical spread of social interventions in ways that rarely take into account the additional challenges faced in the historically deprived northern regions (Abdulai, 2014; Abdulai and Hulme, 2015; Abdulai et al, 2018). Unsurprisingly, while overall poverty levels have been declining, regional inequalities have continued to widen, especially between the three northern regions and the rest of Ghana.…”

Urban food security in Ghana: a policy review

“…regions. This situation of lag in the north came about through long periods of neglect, which Abdulai et al argued to be a result of the colonial regime as it was mostly the south that was interesting for the extractive industries such as gold mining (Abdulai et al 2018). The renewed interest in crop specialisation on both the national and the district level had disruptive impacts on the production and distribution of food and on economic development.…”

“…For the urban areas, specialisation as desired by the government was also possible for the generally more urbanised southern part of the country (Ministry of Food and Agriculture 2016b; Abdulai et al 2018).…”

“…As indicated in the first chapter, the consequences of such exposure to and participation in international markets varied with the perspective of producers and consumers. In the end, access to food also depended on whether the government plans to integrate all regions of the country including the remote regions in northern Ghana (Abdulai et al 2018) and the ZHSR (World Food Programme 2018).…”