Ghana at a Glance
Ghana is
located on the west coast of Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea,
Cote d'Ivoire, and Togo. You'll find Ghana on this map
of Africa. It occupies about 95,373 square miles, including
Lake Volta--the largest man-made lake in the world. The Volta
River basin dominates the country's waterways. Ghana's coast
consists of plains and lagoons. The northern part of the country
has primarily savannah and shrub vegetation, while the southern
region is home to an extensive rain forest.
A Country
Rich in Resources
Ghana's natural resources have been harvested since the 1400's
by Portuguese explorers and up to the present day by newly independent
Ghanaians. (The British ceded control of Ghana in 1957 and left
a coastline littered with castles.) Ghana's natural resources
include:
Aluminum
Bauxite
Diamonds
Gold
Timber
These
resources provide a strong export industry for Ghana. Agriculture,
forestry, and fishing make up another part of the economy,
employing more than one-half of Ghana's population. The agricultural
crops grown include:
Bananas
Cocoa (Cacao)
Coffee
Oil Palm
trees More than 50 percent of Ghana's arable land is used to
grow cocoa--which provides between 60 and 75 percent of Ghana's
export revenues.
Keeping
It in the Country
The importance
of using sustainable agriculture practices to grow a diversity
of crops is often outweighed by the demand for production of
exports. The difficulty in maintaining an agricultural balance
lies in the demand for export products vs. the preservation
of arable land to grow native crops for local consumption. As
long as Ghana's economy depends on exporting goods, which includes
large-scale agriculture and harvesting natural resources, less
land will be available for local crop production, and the environmental
stresses on the rainforest and savannahs will continue. For
more about Ghana's crops and resources, visit Encyclopaedia
Britannica.
In
the Garden
Ghanaians rely on food grown in their home gardens, and many
schools have gardens that the teachers and students tend throughout
the school year. Staples grown in these gardens include:
In
the North
Cassava
Taro
Yams
|
In
the South
Corn (maize)
Millet
Rice
Sorghum
|
Students
and teachers work to prepare the soil, plant seeds, and harvest
the crops. Extra produce is sold to local markets or taken
home to the families. Gardening is as much a part of the curriculum
as math or English.
Families work together to separate the palm tree fruits
from the leaves.
© 2008
National Gardening Association