Harnessing the demographic dividend in Ghana: does the impact of climate change on agriculture matter?

Mumuni Abu, University of Ghana
Reuben T. Larbi, University of Ghana

With declining fertility and increase in life expectancy at birth, Ghana has a high proportion of working age population. However, this has not resulted in the expected boost in economic productivity. Whiles some studies have estimated the demographic dividend, others have examined the impact of climate change on agriculture; the climate change and demographic dividend nexus remain unexplained. We examined the demographics of the economically active population by engaging the literature and drawing some evidence from the 2010 Population and Housing Census. Agriculture forms the main occupation in 8 of the 10 regions in Ghana; over 50% of households in these regions have a member engaging in rain-fed agriculture. Extreme temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns have resulted in reduced yield and unreliable production. Agriculture recorded the lowest growth in 2013, and its contribution to the economy declined in the past two years. However, adopting techniques like irrigation can increase productivity.