Destructive farming practices: Government policies encouraging use of agrochemicals

Organic farming in Ghana remains an elusive desire for most farmers. Despite growing awareness of the health and environmental risks posed by synthetic inputs, the high cost and limited availability of organic alternatives (combined with inadequate policy support) make it nearly impossible for them to go fully chemical-free.

This reality mirrors in the experience of 60-year-old retired librarian, E.A. Quartey, who began farming simply to provide his family with fresh, pesticide-free food. Initially, Mr. Quartey relied on basic methods – watering his crops and using poultry droppings from nearby farms. When his family could no longer consume all his produce, he sold the remainder to neighbours. Seeing increased demand for his produce, he expanded onto a four-acre plot in Dzorwulu, part of the Ayawaso West Municipality. Keeping up the higher yields, however, meant adopting synthetic agrochemicals.

“I use the chemical ones now because we don’t get the organic ones. Normally, when you go to the agro mart, you don’t know whether they have some or not. So, we buy the chemical ones,” Mr. Quartey explains.

His struggles highlight a larger reality in Ghana’s agricultural system, where synthetic inputs dominate the market. Organic or agroecological approaches – which rely on natural processes, including compost and extracts from neem – are often more labour-intensive and expensive, with minimal government backing to alleviate costs. Many farmers echo Mr. Quartey’s frustrations because adopting chemical-based methods feels inevitable.

Organic farming, by definition, excludes synthetic fertilisers and pesticides. Its wider framework, agroecology, focuses on environmental sustainability by harnessing the natural interactions of plants, animals, and soil organisms to maintain productivity. Advocates of organic farming hail this approach as safer for both consumers and farmers, as well as an effective way to mitigate climate change and biodiversity losses.

Despite these benefits, the transition to organic farming remains difficult for most farmers.

 Nuhu (not his real name), another Dzorwulu-based farmer, inherited his vegetable fields from his late father. When interviewed in September 2024, he was at the Ayawaso Municipal Assembly, waiting to receive free chemical fertilisers. Though he acknowledges the health risks, Nuhu points out that organic farming is financially and logistically out of his reach. “Organic alternatives are expensive and hard to find,” he says.

At some agro-marts, a litre of organic fertiliser is priced at GHS 281, compared to GHS 85 for the inorganic equivalent. Similarly, while 30 grams of inorganic fertiliser costs GHS 15, the same quantity of organic fertiliser is sold for GHS 25. This significant price difference makes organic farming financially unsustainable for many farmers, reinforcing their dependence on chemical inputs.

Lack of policy support for agro-ecology

The challenges farmers face can be traced back to Ghana’s agricultural policies, which lean heavily toward conventional farming. The Food and Agricultural Sector Development Policy (FASDEP) I and II, the National Environmental Policy, and the Climate-Smart Agriculture and Food Security Action Plan (2016–2020) do not explicitly prioritise agroecological systems.

According to Charles Nyaaba, former Executive Director of the Ghana Peasant Farmers Association, the nationwide focus strongly favours the use of synthetic inputs, including chemical fertilisers, pesticides, and improved crop varieties produced by large companies. While these inputs can raise yields in the short term, they degrade the soil over time and pose health risks to users and consumers, experts say.

Organic options require more manual labour and are often costly or hard to find, presenting an insurmountable hurdle for small-scale farmers. “The cheapest way to control weeds is with weedicides; one person can spray three acres in a day. If you weed manually, you’d need ten people for just one acre,” Nyaaba notes.

Dominance of inorganic inputs

Government subsidies and budget allocations reflect the dominance of inorganic inputs. A review of Ghana’s budget statements from 2010 to 2017 shows a total expenditure of GHS611.84 million on fertilisers, with organic fertilisers almost always overshadowed by inorganic ones. In 2011, for instance, GHS54.9 million was spent on 114,160 metric tonnes of chemical fertiliser, without any mention of organic inputs.

Between 2013 and 2018, national budgets provided no detailed breakdown of fertiliser types. In 2017 and 2018, subsidies included 12,000 metric tonnes of organic fertilisers compared to 539,000 metric tonnes of blended inorganic fertilisers. By 2019, the government earmarked 438,900 metric tonnes of subsidised inorganic fertilisers while allocating only 30,000 metric tonnes of organic fertilisers.

That trend continued under Phase Two of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) program, launched in August 2023. This saw the purchase of 365,165 metric tonnes of inorganic fertilisers and 7.2 million litres of pesticides. From 2017 to 2020, Phase One of PFJ alone cost GHS1.6 billion in fertilisers, distributing 1.1 million metric tonnes to farmers. For farmers like Mr. Quartey and Nuhu, such substantial support for chemical inputs makes finding and affording organic alternatives even more difficult.

Data from the International Fertiliser Development Center (IFDC) further paints a picture of imbalance. In 2021, organic fertilisers accounted for just one percent (2,495 metric tonnes) of the total 239,062 metric tonnes imported into Ghana, while inorganic products represented 64 percent. In 2020, organic imports fell to a mere 219 metric tonnes, the lowest level on record. Consumption figures mirrored these trends.

In 2021, chemical fertilisers made up 63 percent (151,693 metric tonnes) of total usage, compared to only 3 percent (6,692 metric tonnes) for organic products. While delivering the 2023 budget, former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta cited rising global costs for chemical fertilisers and proposed promoting local production of organic versions, seemingly more for economic reasons than from a desire to restore soil health and to promote sustainability.

Toward a future of sustainable agriculture

Historically, Ghanaian agriculture relied on indigenous methods (compost, manure, and ecological practices) to sustain soil fertility. However, the pressure for higher yields, coupled with a growing population, led to widespread adoption of synthetic chemicals.

Today, the overuse of products like chemical fertilisers has started depleting soil quality, lowering productivity, and causing health problems for both farmers and consumers. In Ejura Sekyedumase, for example, Senior Technical Officer at the Department of Agriculture, Nana Yeboah, notes that years of chemical inputs have severely degraded the land.

“The nutrient level [is very] low,” Yeboah laments.

 He now urges farmers to adopt practices like no-till farming, cover cropping, crop rotation, and agroforestry to restore fertility.

Yet, farmers see chemical inputs as cheaper, easier to apply, and more readily available.

Professor Eric Nartey of the University of Ghana’s Department of Soil Science, explains that while clay and organic matter in soil can filter harmful substances, they can become saturated over time. Once that saturation point is reached, chemicals seep into the liquid part of the soil, where they are then absorbed by crops. Resistance to pesticides and weedicides also develops, forcing farmers to apply increasingly higher amounts to maintain yields.

Agricultural extension officers, who should be bridging the gap between research and field practices, face their own limitations. Ghana’s extension officer-to-farmer ratio stands at about 1:750 – already above the Food and Agriculture Organization’s recommended 1:500 – making it challenging to train farmers on safer chemical use or organic transitions.

For instance, Michael Ebbah, Agricultural Extension Officer in the Gomoa Central District, oversees an operational area made up of four towns — Abosu, Nkroful, Akropong, and Pensu —  with about 1,500 farmers to support.

 Many farmers also doubt the technical expertise of extension workers. “When they come to the farm, we rather have to teach them again,” Nuhu, for instance, says. “Are we going forward or coming backwards?”

In response, Michael Ebbah says extension officers undergo extensive training and are well-equipped to guide farmers on best agriculture practices. However, most farmers disregard their guidance, instead placing their trust in information shared by other farmers and agro-dealers who sometimes seek to maximise profit rather than promote good farming practices.

Professor Nartey emphasises the importance of having well-trained extension agents, especially when dealing with the proper application of pesticides and fertilisers. “If you are going to train farmers on how to use certain things, those doing the training must understand what they are teaching,” he explains. Missteps in interpreting pesticide labels or determining the correct mixture can lead to overuse, harming both crops and the environment.

Speaking on their training, Michael Ebbah and Emma Ahiable, an Extension Officer in the Ayawaso West District, say they received training on general agriculture, which includes aspects of agroecological farming practices.

According to them, they encourage farmers to use organic products, but they are “very expensive so they [the farmers] don’t usually go in for them”, Emma Ahiable explained.

For people like Mr. Quartey and Nuhu, shifting to agroecology is not just about preference but about survival. Their requests for government assistance in obtaining organic supplies have largely gone unanswered amid national initiatives that heavily prioritise inorganic inputs.

“The government cannot provide us with the necessary things for the organic [farming]; all they supply us with is the inorganic,” says Mr. Quartey.

As Ghana increasingly depends on imported chemicals and faces soaring global costs, the urgency for more sustainable methods becomes ever more pressing. Experts emphasise that with proper training, market access, and policy incentives, organic farming could improve soil health, protect biodiversity, and safeguard farmers and consumers from harmful chemicals.

Rather than an abrupt shift to only organic methods, soil scientist, Professor Nartey advocates for a balanced approach. According to him, going solely organic will not be feasible and could lead to food insecurity. Integrating organic and inorganic agro-inputs also known as the Integrated Soil Fertility Management (IFSM) practices, he suggests, could be a more practical solution to maintaining food security while improving soil fertility.

 Whether policy-makers will move beyond short-term, yield-focused approaches to foster a more sustainable and equitable agricultural future remains an unanswered question.