Ghana

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Youth disengagement from agriculture accelerating

🌱 Thematic Deep Dive · Agriculture

Agriculture,
Forestry & Fishing

A sector in retreat — youth are leaving, and the numbers show why that matters.

Agriculture, forestry and fishing have historically anchored Ghana's rural economy and provided a first foothold for millions of young workers. But between 2010 and 2021, youth participation collapsed — with those aged 15–24 falling by more than half. Two chapters trace what happened and what it means.

01The Decline

02The Gender Divide

03The Wider Sector

Agriculture, forestry and fishing remain important sources of employment for young people in Ghana — but recent census data reveal a noticeable and accelerating decline in youth participation. The sector that once absorbed the majority of the rural working-age population is losing its appeal among the young at a pace that carries structural consequences for food security, rural employment, and long-term economic development.

2010 Population & Housing Census

865,855Ages 15–24 · youth in agriculture

2,025,551Ages 15–35 · youth in agriculture

2021 Population & Housing Census

381,476Ages 15–24 · youth in agriculture−56%

1,222,885Ages 15–35 · youth in agriculture−40%

01📉

Chapter One

The Decline

−56%

fewer youth aged 15–24 in agriculture between 2010 and 2021

In 2010, 865,855 young Ghanaians aged 15–24 worked in agriculture, forestry and fishing. By the 2021 census, that figure had fallen to 381,476 — a drop of more than half in a single decade. Among the broader 15–35 age group, the decline was from 2,025,551 to 1,222,885, a 40 percent contraction.

This represents a structural shift, not a cyclical dip. Urbanisation, out-migration, changing career perceptions, and limited mechanisation are all pulling youth away from farming — and few are returning.

🚜

“A decade of structural disengagement from the land.”

— 2010 & 2021 Population and Housing Census · Ghana Statistical Service

PHC 2021UrbanisationYouth migration

865k

2010

Ages 15–24

↓

−56%

381k

2021

Ages 15–24

Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing — Youth Engagement (2010 vs 2021)

A structural shift away from agriculture — youth participation halved in a decade

Youth in agriculture (15–24)

865,8552010→381,4762021

−56%

Youth in agriculture (15–35)

2,025,5512010→1,222,8852021

−40%

02⚖️

Chapter Two

The Gender Divide

−64%

female youth (15–24) left agriculture between 2010 and 2021

The decline was not gender-neutral. Among youth aged 15–24, the female count fell from 387,293 (2010) to 138,112 (2021) — a 64 percent drop, sharper than the 49 percent decline seen among males (478,562 → 243,364).

Among 15–35 youth, males fell from 1,069,672 to 764,212 (−29%), while females dropped from 955,879 to 458,673 (−52%). The gender gap in agricultural participation widened substantially across all age groups.

This reflects a combination of urbanisation pull, expanding female access to other sectors, and persisting barriers — including land access, mechanisation gaps, and social norms — that made agriculture relatively less attractive for young women.

2010 · Youth in Agriculture

👨 Male 15–24478,562

👩 Female 15–24387,293

👨 Male 15–351,069,672

👩 Female 15–35955,879

2021 · Youth in Agriculture

👨 Male 15–24

−49%243,364

👩 Female 15–24

−64%138,112

👨 Male 15–35

−29%764,212

👩 Female 15–35

−52%458,673

💡

Widening gender gap

In 2010, males accounted for roughly 55% of youth agricultural workers (15–24). By 2021, that share rose to 64% — not because male participation held steady, but because female participation collapsed faster. Without targeted interventions (land rights, mechanisation support, agribusiness training for women), the sector risks becoming increasingly male-dominated and less productive.

03🌾

Chapter Three

The Wider Sector: Spending, Crops, Livestock and Fish

Output kept growing while young people left: every major crop, livestock herds and fish production rose, yet agriculture received less than one cedi in every hundred the government spent.

Agriculture Orientation Index

Agriculture’s share of government spending ÷ its share of GDP (1 = proportionate)

2013–2024

The proportionate level (1.0) is far above this scale.

The index never came close to 1: it peaked at 0.066 (printed as 0.07 in the text) in 2018 and was 0.02 in 2022–2024. In 2024 agriculture produced 22% of GDP but received less than one cedi in every hundred government spent. Public spending on agriculture was about 0.2% of GDP in 2024.

Source: Controller and Accountant-General’s Department; GSS · Table 5.2, p. 44 (SDG 2.a.1)

View data· Published figures

Government spending on agriculture
Year	Spending on agriculture (GH¢)	Total government spending (GH¢)	Agriculture GVA (GH¢)	GDP (GH¢)	GVA share of GDP, printed (%)	AOI
2013	181,099,469	25,059,540,580	25,355,886,760	124,477,578,786	21.4	0.035
2014	273,855,843	39,322,200,517	31,076,313,516	158,683,994,554	21.5	0.036
2015	205,276,078	40,048,805,910	36,673,287,356	183,525,640,047	21.8	0.026
2016	244,898,460	44,791,386,715	45,772,940,716	219,594,595,438	22.5	0.026
2017	284,069,429	50,251,936,147	51,407,775,787	262,797,966,051	21.0	0.029
2018	757,757,821	63,335,704,491	55,967,108,329	308,587,395,726	19.5	0.066
2019	691,069,367	77,937,091,692	61,764,983,869	356,544,265,615	18.5	0.051
2020	1,155,290,438	112,322,718,689	73,895,654,015	391,940,733,197	20.1	0.055
2021	1,353,356,717	136,737,117,057	90,757,559,793	461,694,936,015	21.1	0.050
2022	1,123,228,750	251,192,878,448	119,879,353,737	614,336,252,718	20.8	0.023
2023	1,595,142,970	343,819,340,962	185,921,700,246	887,748,123,973	22.4	0.022
2024	2,462,583,513	517,578,047,240	243,743,200,360	1,176,219,900,567	22.0	0.023

AOI = (spending ÷ total spending) ÷ (GVA ÷ GDP); it reproduces from these columns. The printed GVA-share column is about one point higher than GVA ÷ GDP (likely GDP at basic prices). The 2024 GDP here (GH¢1,176.2bn) predates the revised national-accounts figure (GH¢1,182.8bn).

Production of major crops

Million metric tonnes · each panel has its own scale, starting at zero

2013–2024

Cassava16.0 → 28.5

Yam7.1 → 11.4

Plantain3.7 → 7.2

Maize1.8 → 3.3

Cocoyam1.3 → 1.8

Rice0.6 → 1.1

2024 is provisional. Quantities harvested, not yields or value. Groundnut, sorghum, cowpea, soyabean and millet are drawn without labels and are excluded, so panel values do not sum to the printed totals (31.5 million tonnes in 2013, 55.4 million in 2024).

Source: SRID, Ministry of Food and Agriculture (March 2024) · Figure 5.7, p. 47

View data· Published figures

Production of major crops, million metric tonnes
Year	Cassava	Yam	Plantain	Maize	Cocoyam	Rice	All crops (printed total)
2013	16.0	7.1	3.7	1.8	1.3	0.6	31.5
2014	16.5	7.1	3.8	1.8	1.3	0.6	32.3
2015	17.2	7.3	4.0	1.7	1.3	0.6	33.2
2016	17.8	7.4	4.0	1.7	1.3	0.7	34.2
2017	19.0	7.9	4.3	2.0	1.4	0.7	36.5
2018	20.8	7.8	4.7	2.3	1.5	0.8	39.3
2019	22.8	8.8	5.5	2.9	1.6	0.9	44.0
2020	23.0	8.8	5.4	3.0	2.2	1.0	44.8
2021	24.7	9.5	6.2	3.6	2.2	1.1	48.9
2022	26.1	11.1	6.3	3.3	1.7	1.3	51.5
2023	27.7	11.7	7.3	3.6	1.8	1.4	55.6
2024 (prov.)	28.5	11.4	7.2	3.3	1.8	1.1	55.4

Livestock population

Million animals

1990–2024

Goats
Sheep
Cattle
Pigs

Poultry (90.8 million birds in 2024) is shown separately because it is about ten times larger than the other species. Cattle more than doubled (1.1 → 2.4 million), sheep nearly tripled (2.2 → 6.3 million). Counts, not meat output.

Source: SRID, Ministry of Food and Agriculture (March 2024) · Figure 5.8, p. 48

View data· Published figures

Livestock population, million
Year	Poultry	Goats	Sheep	Cattle	Pigs	Total (printed)
1990	10.0	2.0	2.2	1.1	0.5	15.9
1991	10.6	2.2	2.2	1.2	0.5	16.6
1992	11.2	2.2	2.1	1.2	0.4	17.1
1993	12.2	2.1	2.2	1.2	0.4	18.1
1994	12.3	2.2	2.2	1.2	0.4	18.3
1995	13.1	2.2	2.0	1.1	0.4	18.7
1996	14.6	2.5	2.4	1.2	0.4	21.1
1997	15.9	2.7	2.5	1.3	0.3	22.6
1998	17.3	2.8	2.6	1.3	0.3	24.3
1999	18.8	2.9	2.7	1.3	0.3	26.0
2000	20.5	3.1	2.7	1.3	0.3	27.9
2001	22.0	3.2	2.8	1.3	0.3	29.6
2002	24.3	3.2	2.9	1.3	0.3	32.0
2003	26.4	3.6	3.0	1.3	0.3	34.6
2004	28.7	3.9	3.1	1.4	0.3	37.4
2005	28.4	3.9	3.2	1.4	0.3	37.2
2006	34.0	4.0	3.3	1.4	0.5	43.2
2007	37.0	4.2	3.4	1.4	0.5	46.6
2008	39.8	4.4	3.5	1.4	0.5	49.7
2009	43.3	4.6	3.6	1.4	0.5	53.5
2010	47.8	4.9	3.8	1.5	0.5	58.4
2011	52.6	5.1	3.9	1.5	0.6	63.7
2012	57.9	5.4	4.0	1.5	0.6	69.5
2013	63.7	5.8	4.2	1.6	0.6	75.9
2014	68.5	6.0	4.3	1.7	0.7	81.2
2015	71.6	6.4	4.5	1.7	0.7	84.9
2016	73.9	6.7	4.7	1.8	0.8	88.0
2017	75.4	7.2	5.0	1.9	0.8	90.2
2018	76.9	7.4	5.1	1.9	0.8	92.1
2019	79.4	7.8	5.3	2.0	0.8	95.4
2020	81.8	8.2	5.5	2.1	0.9	98.5
2021	81.5	8.4	5.7	2.2	0.9	98.7
2022	86.7	8.8	5.9	2.2	1.0	104.7
2023	88.1	9.1	6.1	2.3	1.0	106.7
2024	90.8	9.5	6.3	2.4	1.1	110.2

Components are read from the figure labels and sum to the printed totals within 0.1 because of rounding.

Value of fish production by source

GH¢ billion, current prices

2010–2025

Marine
Inland
Aquaculture
Aquaculture, not labelled

Figure 5.6 is captioned “production in hundred thousand metric tonnes”, but its labels are values in GH¢ billion: the totals (1.94 in 2010, 20.44 in 2025) match the value figures in the text. For 2010–2014 the aquaculture segment is not labelled; the hatched part is the remainder of the printed total. Values are nominal, so they rise with prices as well as catch.

Source: Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development · Figure 5.6 and text, p. 45

View data· Published figures

Value of fish production, GH¢ billion
Year	Marine	Inland	Aquaculture	Total (printed)
2010	1.42	0.46	n/a	1.94
2011	1.64	0.57	n/a	2.33
2012	2.23	0.71	n/a	3.13
2013	2.31	0.58	n/a	3.12
2014	1.75	0.59	n/a	2.76
2015	3.86	0.60	0.52	4.98
2016	4.53	0.84	0.63	5.99
2017	4.68	0.79	0.69	6.16
2018	4.66	1.01	1.04	6.71
2019	4.83	1.18	0.86	6.86
2020	5.26	0.90	1.01	7.17
2021	7.37	2.54	1.74	11.65
2022	7.86	3.30	3.34	14.50
2023	9.82	3.91	4.20	17.93
2024	10.76	3.87	4.15	18.78
2025	10.67	4.85	4.92	20.44

n/a: aquaculture not labelled for 2010–2014.

Fish production by source

Metric tonnes

2010 and 2025

Marine
2010319,331
2025443,794
Inland
201083,127
2025154,692
Aquaculture
201010,200
2025124,161

Total, 2010

412,658t

Total, 2025

722,648t

Only these two years are printed as quantities. Components sum to 722,647 tonnes in 2025 against the published 722,648 (rounding); the published total is kept. Aquaculture grew about twelvefold.

Source: Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development · p. 45

View data· Published figures

Fish production, tonnes
Year	Marine	Inland	Aquaculture	Total (published)
2010	319,331	83,127	10,200	412,658
2025	443,794	154,692	124,161	722,648

Farmed tilapia and catfish

Thousand metric tonnes

2013–2025

Tilapia
Catfish

Combined output rose from 32,512 to 124,428 tonnes (about +283%) and peaked at 132,652 tonnes in 2022. The 2025 species total is 267 tonnes above the aggregate aquaculture series (124,161 t), reflecting revisions, not extra species.

Source: Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development · Table 5.3, p. 46

View data· Published figures

Tilapia and catfish production and value
Year	Tilapia (t)	Tilapia (GH¢ m)	Catfish (t)	Catfish (GH¢ m)
2013	29,911.0	215.4	2,601.0	15.6
2014	35,836.7	394.2	2,698.3	29.7
2015	40,818.0	474.3	3,697.0	47.0
2016	48,637.9	583.4	3,832.1	42.8
2017	48,663.9	862.0	8,741.4	143.3
2018	69,859.8	947.0	6,760.2	91.3
2019	38,916.0	640.6	13,434.0	214.9
2020	47,682.1	749.9	16,322.0	258.0
2021	68,714.5	1,010.3	20,661.0	259.6
2022	97,600.0	2,571.6	35,052.4	772.5
2023	73,901.5	2,710.9	42,206.3	1,492.0
2024	82,845.3	2,899.6	38,964.2	1,334.4
2025	86,584.8	3,457.4	37,842.9	1,477.4

🌱 The path forward

A declining sector is not an inevitable one.

▸

Youth aged 15–24 in agriculture fell by over 50% — from 865,855 (2010) to 381,476 (2021)

▸

The broader 15–35 cohort declined by 40%, from over 2 million to under 1.3 million

▸

Female participation dropped faster than male, widening the gender gap in the sector

▸

The structural shift reflects urbanisation, migration, and limited modernisation

Policy levers

⚙️ Mechanisation🏦 Access to finance📦 Agribusiness development🔗 Value-chain opportunities👩‍🌾 Women in agriculture🎓 Agricultural TVET

Strengthening youth engagement in agriculture — through mechanisation, agribusiness development, and access to finance — will be critical for ensuring long-term food security, rural employment, and sustainable economic development in Ghana.

Source: Ghana Statistical Service — 2010 & 2021 Population and Housing Census

Agriculture,Forestry & Fishing

Agriculture Orientation Index

Production of major crops

Livestock population

Value of fish production by source

Fish production by source

Farmed tilapia and catfish

Agriculture,
Forestry & Fishing