- Agricultural households in Ghana face 32.1% poverty, higher than industry or services
- Farming often fails to provide stable income or basic living standards
- Rural and farming communities remain more affected by poverty despite national improvements
Agriculture is often promoted to young Ghanaians as a solution to unemployment, with slogans like “Go into farming” or “There’s money in agriculture.” Yet recent data paints a starkly different picture: for many, working in agriculture is one of the quickest paths to remaining poor in Ghana.
According to the Ghana Statistical Service’s Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for 2024–2025, households led by agricultural workers had a poverty rate of 32.1% in Q3 2025—the second highest among all employment groups, surpassed only by households with no working head.
By contrast, households headed by workers in industry and services recorded poverty rates below 10%. For young Ghanaians planning their careers, the data sends a clear message: not all jobs provide the same path to a decent living.
Agriculture remains one of Ghana’s largest employers, especially in rural areas where it dominates local economies. Yet MPI data shows that having a farming job offers little protection against deprivation. Many agricultural workers face unstable incomes, poor housing, limited sanitation, inadequate healthcare, and minimal social protection—a reality known as working poverty, where employment does not guarantee basic living standards. For many Gen Z Ghanaians, this explains why farming is perceived as exhausting, risky, and unrewarding, despite its critical role in feeding the nation.
Structural barriers reinforce the poverty trap in agriculture, particularly for the youth. Studies show a gerontocratic system, where male elders control land and manage lineage property, making access difficult for young men and often secondary for women.
Young farmers are also highly vulnerable to climate change. Ghanaian agriculture depends almost entirely on rainfall, and erratic rainfall now undermines traditional weather predictions. With irrigation used on just 4% of its potential, a single dry season can wipe out crops entirely—a scenario projected to occur once every five years in northern regions.
Lack of mechanization further discourages educated youth, as most farm work is still done manually, pushing them toward urban white-collar jobs.
Despite the 32.1% poverty risk, a new generation of youth is transforming farming into a profitable business. Success stories like Afariwaa Farms demonstrate that large-scale, commercial approaches can yield significant returns—the company reported GHS 5.9 million in revenue last year.
Technology is becoming the modern tool for young farmers
The Ghana Statistical Service concludes that addressing agriculture’s poverty trap requires more than just distributing seeds and fertilizer. Effective solutions include:
- Expanding skills development programs for farmers.
- Extending National Health Insurance (NHIS) coverage to informal workers.
- Investing in irrigation infrastructure to reduce reliance on unpredictable rainfall.
Until these structural issues are addressed, farming will continue to be seen by youth as manual labor with little financial reward, rather than a pathway to opportunity.
