Structural Adjustment and Agricultural Performance: the Chilean Case

The central role agriculture plays in the development of Ghanaâ€™s economy has been recognized by several authors, particularly because Ghanaâ€™s economy is basically agrarian. Nevertheless, the contributions agriculture can make to economic development depend on the policy environment within which agriculture thrives. Several policies, both general and specific to agriculture, which have been pursued under various governments have either promoted or mitigated against the performance of agriculture in Ghana. This paper reviews the various policies under which Ghana's agricultural sector has operated since independence, and provides a synthesis of the major existing policies and recent changes and how these have affected the agricultural sector. The analysis shows that the socialist model of the 1960s contrasted sharply with the liberalized market approach of the 1980s and 1990s, particularly under structural adjustment. These differing policy orientations have had significant effects on agricultural performance in Ghana, and the roles of agriculture at different periods. For instance, the policy effects of agricultural activities on the environment, such as the promotion of export commodities, the exploitation of timber and forest resources, mining, and indiscriminate sale and use of agro-chemicals in Ghana have been negative. On the other hand, promotion of cash and export crops through government policy incentives have improved rural incomes for farmers that cultivate such crops, and helped to reduce poverty among this group. In general, the policy effects on agriculture in Ghana have been mixed.

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IMPACT OF STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMS ON AGRICULTURAL SECTOR GROWTH IN KENYA

Journal of Agricultural Policy ◽

10.47941/jap.122 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 1-33

Author(s):

Dr. Pauline Mbithe ◽

Dr. Prof. Germano Mwabu ◽

Mr. Maurice Awiti

Keyword(s):

Error Correction ◽

Structural Adjustment ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Agricultural Growth ◽

Structural Adjustment Programs ◽

Agricultural Performance ◽

Long Run ◽

Short Run ◽

Per Capita ◽

Adjustment Programs

Purpose: The study was an examination of the impact of structural adjustment programs on agricultural growth in Kenya.Methodology: The study examined the short run and long run determinants of agricultural sector performance in Kenya. To achieve this, the study use time series regression modeling for data spanning from 1975 to 2010. Tests of normality, unit roots test and cointergration test was applied to determine the properties of the data. Upon proof of cointergration, an error correction model was estimated to link the short run and the long run relationships.Results: The results indicated that structural adjustment programme (SAPs) had a negative and significant long run effect on per capita agriculture GDP. The study concluded that Post Election Violence had a negative and significant long run effect on the per capital agriculture GDP. The study also concluded that the lagged per capital agricultural performance had a positive and significant effect on the per capita agricultural performance. The results also led to the conclusion that the long run per capita agricultural growth may be linked to the short run growth by an error correction term of -0.242583 which indicates that 0.242% of the disequilibria in short run per capita agricultural sector GDP achieved in one period are corrected in the subsequent period. The results also led to the conclusion that weather indicators (temperature and precipitation), and per capita infrastructure did not have a significant effect on the short run and long run per capita Agricultural GDP.Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommends that some harmful policies need to be eliminated such as the removal of subsidies. Other policy recommendations are to enhance the adaptation of privatized agricultural institutions; encouragement of value addition in primary agricultural products; non price mechanisms such as infrastructure should be encouraged especially in the rural areas; and enhancement of the political stability of the country especially during electioneering years.

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