Transforming Vegetable Farming as a Business

Context and Project Objective

More than half of the workforce in Ghana is involved in agriculture, with the majority being small-scale farmers who rely on the sector for their livelihood. Despite this, not enough vegetables are being produced to meet the country’s needs, leading to a reliance on imports from neighboring countries. Even with imports, the consumption of vegetables in Ghana is only 46% of the recommended amount for healthy living, according to the Global Nutrition Report.

The growing demand for better-quality, safe, and nutritionally dense vegetables presents an economic and social opportunity. However, despite its potential, vegetable farming in Ghana faces challenges such as low profitability and productivity, limited access to production knowledge, poor infrastructure, and a lack of quality inputs. The majority of farmers rely on traditional techniques, with yields below their potential. To address these challenges, there is a need for improved production knowledge, better access to inputs, and a deeper understanding of market requirements for vegetable quality.

The aim of this project is to build the capacity of farmers in Ghana to profitably grow and market vegetables using better seed and sustainable farming practices. Through showcasing higher yields and solid economic evidence on the benefits of using better seed and improved farming practices, this project will position vegetables as an attractive business opportunity for smallholder farmers, thereby increasing the availability of locally produced vegetables and catalyzing the development of a competitive agro-input market.

During phase 1 of the project (2023–2025), EWS-KT trained 7,733 smallholder farmers on sustainable agricultural practices and business planning in the Ahafo, Bono, and Bono East regions. Phase 2 of the project (2025–2029) will reach an additional 39,520 farmers and will extend training activities to the Ashanti and Upper East regions. Phase 2 will also boost cocoa farmers’ livelihood through diversification into vegetable production.

Activities & Expected Outcomes (Phases 1 & 2 Combined)

• Support the establishment of 3,245 peer-led demonstration plots to showcase innovative techniques for growing vegetables.
• Establish and maintain learning farms (which feature improved agricultural techniques for several crops) to train staff, sector professionals, students, and interns and to undertake action research. 1 learning farm was established during the pilot phase; 3 learning farms are planned for the scale-up phase.
• Directly build the technical and business capacity of 47,253 small-scale farmers through intensive exposure and training on how to produce higher yields of safe-to-eat vegetables.
• Promote entrepreneurship and improve access to finance through capacity building and by using an advanced farm management and monitoring app to track activities, adoption of improved practices, volume of yield, costs, and return on investment (ROI) for each demonstration farm.
• Foster linkages with traders supplying local and regional markets where lower-income consumers purchase their vegetables.
• Develop the capacity of 86 agro-input retailers to share improved technical advice with their clients.
• Widen digital access to technical knowledge through the use of social media, radio, and mobile learning apps like VeggieTap.
• Collaborate with complementary organizations in areas such as training of trainers and sector professionals, farmer certification and access to finance, and weather data distribution in order to accelerate agricultural development.

EWS-KT Partners

Funding partner: Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Accra

Project Period

1 July 2025 – 30 June 2029 (phase 2)
1 November 2023 – 31 October 2024; extended to 1 March 2025 (phase 1)

Location

Ghana: Ahafo, Ashanti, Bono, Bono East, and Upper East regions