Supporting local economies

Despite abundant natural resources, high rates of unemployment, soaring inflation and poor investment make Ghana heavily dependent on aid.

• 70 per cent of people in the poor northern regions live on less than $1 a day
• Life expectancy is a mere 58

The dumping of cheap, subsidised Western rice onto local markets is having a disastrous effect on the livelihoods of local farmers, undercutting their produce and putting scores of them out of business.

How Oxfam is helping

We carry out training to help farmers produce more, and campaign to help improve their ability to trade successfully in local, national and regional markets.

• We have trained 215 communities and several hundred producer groups in farming techniques. This increases competitiveness in local markets
• We helped found the Peasant Farmers' Association of Ghana to represent farmers needs to government. It now has more than 2 million members

Learn more

Read more examples of our work in Ghana:

• Development

Comic Relief is an Oxfam funding partner in Ghana

Promoting girls' education

Girls in Ghana, especially in poor communities, often lose out when it comes to an education.

When there are limited resources, boys are prioritised, and girls are considered more useful in the home. Parents feel that they will lose the investment made in a girl's education when she marries and leaves to join her husband's household.

How Oxfam is helping

We raise awareness of the importance of female education and aim to increase enrolments in schools. We also lobby the government to provide the resources necessary for every child to have a quality education.

Other development work

• Peace-building
• Supporting the representation of poor and marginalised groups in decision making

Oxfam's work in Ghana in depth