GTAP Resources: Resource Display
| GTAP Resource #5629 |
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"Development Strategy, Agri-food System Transformation, and Job Creation: Prospects for the ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’ Initiative in Ghana" by Pauw, Karl, Gracie Rosenbach and James Thurlow Abstract As Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries grapple with the intractable problems of slow manufacturing sector job growth, low levels of agricultural productivity, and a growing reliance on imported processed foods, there is renewed interest in public investments directed at strengthening domestic agri-food systems. Ghana’s Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) goes beyond traditional input subsidy programs and emphasizes reform of input supply systems and improving market functioning, infrastructure, information and access. PFJ’s objective is the creation of more manufacturing and formal service sector jobs to counter the trend of rapid job creation in informal trade and services sectors, a form of structural transformation prevalent in SSA that has not been as conducive to economic growth. Our economywide model simulations confirm that returns to input subsidies hinge on the efficiency of seed and fertilizer use, which is a longstanding concern in Ghana. Moreover, whereas input subsidies have immediate payoffs in terms of crop yield response, their sustainability in the longer term as compared to investments in extension services, research and development, or rural infrastructure is questionable; indeed, our results show that their impact in terms of job creation along the agri-food system is hampered when these complementary investments are neglected. For this reason, Ghana’s PFJ should be commended for looking beyond primary, on-farm production; however, with only 10% of the PFJ budget allocated to marketing, processing, and information dissemination activities, it is not evident that the program will achieve significant reforms along the entire agri-food system. |
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- Baseline development - Economic development - Labor market issues - Agricultural policies - Africa (West) |
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Public Access No documents have been attached. Restricted Access No documents have been attached. Special Instructions No instructions have been specified. |
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Last Modified: 9/15/2023 2:05:45 PM
