ISSN 2375-1134
African Journal of Agriculture ISSN 2375-1134 Vol. 12 (3), pp. 001-013, March, 2025. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
The Economics of Sustainable Water Resource Availability for Food Production in Ghana
Daniel Ofori1, Amatus Gyilbag2, Komla Ben Kakraba3, Mitchell Dodzi Morvey4 & Francis Xavier Kabir Mwinkon5
1Kumasi Technical University, Department of Entrepreneurship and Finance, Ghana. 2Takoradi Technical University, Ghana. 3University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), Sunyani, Centre for Climate Change and Gender Studies (3CGS), Ghana. 4Kumasi Technical University, Procurement officer (Snr), Ghana. 5Odomaseman Senior High School, Sunyani, Ghana.
Abstract
Received 14 January, 2025; Revised 10 February, 2025; Accepted 16 February, 2025; Published 13 March, 2025
Water bodies in Ghana are being ‘’poisoned’’ by illegal mining in water bodies and also in the forest reserves; thus polluting river bodies and amplifying the crisis of the country. However, the water-agriculture nexus is poorly understood as researchers tend to focus more on agricultural sector. This research aims at gaining a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between agricultural water resource management practices and their effects on food production. Food production (FoPin), food export (FoE), and food import (FoI) served as the dependent variables, whereas the independent variables include Gross National Expenditure (GNE), Rainfall (RNF), Temperature (TEMP), Water Productivity (WPT), Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFICFN), Foreign Direct Investment (FDINI), and arable land (ArL). The research utilizes time series data from 1973 to 2022. The numerical data included in the study was sourced from the World Bank (2024). The inquiry centers on assessing the stationarity of variables through the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Phillips-Perron (PP) tests. The research utilises an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model as the econometric method to evaluate the relationships among the variables of interest. The empirical findings of this study indicate that Water Productivity (WPT) possesses a positive coefficient, demonstrating a correlation in the same direction as the dependent variables. This connection was shown to be statistically insignificant at 1% level. The study recommends that policy-makers ensure measures to improve water – agriculture nexus, water availability and sustainability in the midst of changing climate and illegal mining activities in the country.
Keyword: Sustainable Water, Food security, Food Import & export, ARDL, Economic Growth, Ghana.