Poverty Dimensions of Public Governance and Forest Management ...

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The first purpose of this report is to survey natural resource use in the Brong Ahafo Region, and
to characterise the actual bases of decision-making by small farmers, the ways in which they have
adapted to changes in their environment, and the variations in experience between them.
4.1.3 Agricultural policy and its effects on the Brong Ahafo Region
Agriculture in the Brong Ahafo has a long history, dating back at least to the second millennium
BC. The patterns of cultivation which have developed bear witness to the interplay between
natural and managed environments, and confound a common perception of an essentially static
traditional agriculture.
Over the centuries, there have been considerable shifts in climate and vegetation within the
transition and forest zones, marked by retreats and advances of species associated with forest and
savanna, as periods of desiccation alternated with relative humidity. By managing a wide array of
crop species and micro-environments, farmers have developed techniques of risk and
environmental management which secure their long term returns to labour.
A series of policy developments in the post-colonial period has had a profound influence on the
character of agriculture in the Brong Ahafo. The main of these have been:
! Starting in the early 1960s, agricultural modernisation through the development of large-scale
mechanised farming; this led to large-scale land clearance and tree stumping, tractorisation,
and associated infrastructure development (particularly road building).
! Adoption, in the 1980s, of structural adjustment policies involving market liberalisation, and
the removal of input subsidies, leading to the collapse of mechanised agriculture in most
areas.
Though the state farms and associated enterprises failed, they have nevertheless had significant
effects upon the rural economy. These effects have included:
! Increased demand for agricultural services and inputs;
! New opportunities for the business class to acquire large areas of land;
! Changes in soil structure and vegetation types (consequent on stumping and ploughing),
creating a new dependence on inputs;
! Improved infrastructure (particularly roads);
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