Effects of Human Capital on Maize Production in Ghana Essay

Under National Agro-Food Policy, agriculture sector has been identified as a National Key Result Area. Under this initiative, the agriculture sector is targeted to increase the Gross National Income by RM28.9 Billion (USD9.1 billion) to reach RM49.1 billion (USD15.4 billion) by 2020. The agricultural sector is also targeted to create more than 109,000 job opportunities by 2020, primarily in the rural areas.

Agriculture is the grassroots of America, yet if you walk into most college campuses across the United States and ask a student where their food comes from, the chances that they could tell you, is slim to none. With the vast growing population and increased demand, producers are striving to do their best to help feed the world. Thus, education is vital when it comes to agriculture, because alone farmers can only do so little, but together they can do so much. The production agriculture industry as a whole must collaborate to ensure that they can provide to consumers for years to come and sustain food security.

In Ethiopia, about 4.9 million acres of land is devoted to its production every year. From 2003-2005 production statistics indicated that tef accounted for about 29% of the land and 20% of the gross grain production of all major cereal cultivation in the country (National Research Council).

However, some believe, that a shift in the way we produce food may have some unintended consequences. They contend that poverty in nations such as Africa and Asia, is caused by the low productivity of the unindustrialized farm labor. The U.S. Agriculture Department projects, without reform, there will be over a thirty percent increase in the numbers of the ‘food insecure’ people in those nations over the next decade (Paarlberg 179).

In the cities of Wichita Falls and Vernon, the thought of economic growth and the reduction of poverty does not usually cross the minds of most citizens, but as the economic advisor of both cities, it is the main concern of my career. There are many factors that contribute towards these issues, like tax cuts, infrastructure spending, deregulation, and tax rebates (DePersio), but one focused inducer is agriculture development.

A college education can increase a workers’ productivity in various ways. Generally a college graduate enters into the labour market with more knowledge and higher skills than a non-college graduate. These higher skills can be improved thinking, writing, communication and problem solving; which increase productivity. The thinking processes increases the application of their knowledge which increases their productivity and efficiency.

It is unfortunate to learn that Liberia has no agricultural education programs in the Liberian Education System. Not teaching the young generations about agricultural and the importance of it could be detrimental to all of society. Not knowing how to properly grow crops and raise livestock makes it hard

When you watch commercials depicting starvation in African countries like Mali, do you wonder what it would actually take to end hunger? Plenty of answers appear successful in concept, but have unforeseen complications, such as building factories in Africa to produce and process biofuels. And other obstacles such as civil wars, poor sanitation, and massive debt keep countries like Democratic Republic of the Congo from advancing. Maybe we complicate the solution to the hunger crisis by focusing on economy instead of food sustainability. Before a country can advance economically and technologically, it has to be able to feed its inhabitants. Therefore, by altering the crops currently grown in the African savannas to create agricultural sustainability, it will diminish hunger, and lead to economic growth.

As an economics major, I spent a majority of my undergraduate career examining production functions, which are equations that estimate a level of output based on certain variables such as capital, labor, and technology. During my studies, I began to realize that education was a variable that almost always positively altered the level of output for any given person, business, or environment. The importance of education cannot be understated, therefore, I have the greatest appreciation for those who continue to invest in students like myself.

Deere & Doss 2006 indicates that women are 5 percent of registered landholders in West Africa, 22.4 percent in the Mexican ejidos (communal farming lands) and 15.5 percent in Nicaragua. On average, men’s land holdings are almost three times women’s land holdings. This compromise land access leads women to make suboptimal decisions with regard to crop choices and to obtain lower yields than would otherwise be possible if household resources were allocated efficiently. Insecurity of tenure for women results in lower investment and potential environmental degradation. It also compromises future production potential and increases food insecurity. If women farmers in Bombali Sheborah and Makarie Gbanti Chiefdoms in particular and West Africa in general had the same access to farm inputs, education, and experience as their men counterparts, their yields for maize, beans, and cowpeas could increase as much as 22 percent (Quisumbing

I am highly motivated to pursue further studies in agricultural and resource economics at Kasetsart University. My strong interest in agriculture and the business of agriculture and its relation to economic development . Agriculture is the backbone of my country Ghana, supplying food for the nation's population. It is part of a massive business sector that provides many opportunities for the masses of people.

Table 5 shows the estimated ARDL error correction approach. The results illustrate most of the variables in this model as either statistically significant or not significant at any level with an expected sign. Specifically, food production (dLFD) and annual population growth rate (dLPOP) are positive and significant at 1% and 5% level of significant respectively. For instance, improvement in the in food production and annual population growth rate in the short-run are related to improvement in Cereal Production. As can be seen from the results. Food production has an immediate impact on cereal production in Nigeria. So, with this analysis, it can be stated that food production can foster growth of the cereal production and that its effects seem to be quite lasting over time, although the magnitude is rather small. As a consequence, population growth displays a prolonged impact on the agricultural productivity in the short-run. However, this finding agrees with the Malthusiantheory which states that population increase at a faster rate it stimulates urgent demand for food and increases output. To be exact, improvement of food production by 1% leads to increase in Cereal production by 10.07%. This findings consistent with the finding by Battisti&

Agricultural production which used to be the mainstay of Nigerian economy has been declined as results of crude oil discovery and subsequent increase in production and exportation of crude oil (Edo (2013). The discovery of crude oil and appreciation of oil price in the World market some years ago leads Nigerian government to abandon all other means of revenue generations including agriculture, just to depend solely on crude oil revenue to finance most of her budgets. However, crude oil exports are no longer sustaining the economy due to current downturn in crude oil price. For instance, the Nigerian government generated lots of revenues from crude oil exports but majority of her populations are still under the poverty line (Shaxson, 2005). Therefore, there is need to source revenue generations through other means. Among those means of revenue generation is through increase in agriculture production and exportation. But the sector needs massive overhaul and developments in order to yield fruitful results. Developments of agricultural sector will require serious investments in the sector, which is done properly, will improve export revenues in country through an increase in agriculture output and exportation. This therefore calls for an urgent need to assist farmers with capitals, improved and hybrid crops and livestock, and “subsidize agricultural inputs which in effect will increase agricultural yields” (Jerven, 2014). For instance, in many developing

Agriculture is the beating hub of the Kenyan economy. The agriculture sector is the single largest sector of the economy accounting for about one quarter of GDP. About 18 per cent of growth in GDP in 2012 was from the sector, up from 7.5 per cent recorded in 2011. The sector

This study assessed policy and institutional frameworks impacting on vegetable seed production and distribution systems in Cameroon in order to establish benchmark indicators for successful integration and/or diversification of vegetables into existing cocoa-based farming systems in the humid tropics of Cameroon. Results reveal that official regulations and other policy instruments necessary to boost the vegetable seed sector in Cameroon do exist, but need to be re-formulated into more concrete and implementable actions on the ground. The study identified and characterized two main vegetable seed supply systems namely: the dominant informal system dealing mainly with traditional vegetable species such as Amaranthus spp (amaranth) and the formal seed supply system characterised by mostly by the production and sale of globally important vegetable seed such as Brassica oleracea var. capitata (cabbage). The major constraints observed in the vegetable seed sub-sector include the inadaptability of legal instruments to the vegetable seed sector, absence of effective storage conditions, absence of seed testing facilities, poor knowledge on seed production and processing and the heterogeneity of seeds. Consequently, farmers are obliged to fall back to unimproved seeds to the detriment of agricultural yields.