Transportation, a major issue in the agricultural Industry

 

By: Samuel Boateng The Agriprenuer Newsletter

Agricultural value chain issues that require immediate attention include food waste, inadequate post-harvest management, limited market access, ineffective agricultural finance targeting, and poor packaging and issues regarding processing.  In Ghana for example, as high as 50 percent of products such as tomatoes, mangoes, pineapple, and bananas rot away annually after harvesting, due to the country’s inability to transport, store and process these agriproducts. Also, there are instances where there is an unlimited supply of tomatoes in Ghana's Upper East Region, one of the country's major tomato-producing regions, but a shortage in the Western region, which would drive up prices in the scarcity zones. The subject that remains unresolved is “how to ensure that agricultural commodities are uniformly distributed to prevent shortages in certain parts of the country and surpluses in others”. These imbalances result in either drastic hikes in prices that affect consumers or extremely low prices that prevent farmers from breaking even after sales, discouraging them from entering agriculture production.

To address this issue, an improved and sustainable transportation system that allows for the free flow of agricultural commodities between regions is required. To improve the movement of these agricultural commodities across the country, transportation infrastructure should be made available. Furthermore, the government of Ghana can establish railway transportation networks and designate trains available for solely delivering agricultural goods within the boundaries of the country. Consequently, using these railway transportation systems will make it possible to move a significant amount of goods and reduce the cost of transportation, which will result in an overall decrease in the price of agricultural products.

These pressing issues when addressed will improve the agricultural value chain. This is because the ultimate goal of the value chain is to provide consumers with the most value at the lowest possible cost. Therefore, by developing good transportation infrastructure, the Ghanaian agricultural value chain will be functional, efficient and lessen Ghana's agricultural product waste. Additionally, consumers will receive agricultural commodities at the lowest possible cost.

 

Reference

Adu-Dapaah, H. K., & Oppong-Konadu, E. Y. (2002). Tomato production in four major tomato-growing districts in Ghana: Farming practices and production constraints. Ghana journal of agricultural science, 35(1), 11-22.

Asiedu, J. (2018, August 24). Agriculture sector, local business, and entrepreneurial ventures, 50% Of Farm Produce Go Waste in Ghana. Ghana Financial Sector News. Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://ghanafinancialmarket.org/2018/08/24/50-of-farm-produce-go-waste-in-ghana