Ghana’s ten percent agricultural expenditure saga: why reported government expense shares are less than meets the eye

In 2003, African countries signed the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP)and set the goal of investing 10% of their national budgets on the agricultural sector in pursuit of a 6% agricultural growth rate each year. Since then, it has become clear that the issue of what counts as agriculture expenditures is central in determining whether the numbers reported actually reflect improvements. An analysis of Ghana’s experience shows that an inconsistent approach can lead to misleading results.

Photo: ESPA