International Aid and Its Role in Shaping Agriculture Policy Narratives in Ghana

International aid in the form of development assistance helps developing countries meet their development needs. Aid is also used as a conduit to drive the interests of donor countries in recipient countries. In Ghana, there is a renewed interest from donors to drive agriculture transformation throu...

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Main Authors: James Boafo, Kristen Lyons, Senyo Dotsey
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2025-08-01
Series:Africa Spectrum
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/00020397251325868
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author James Boafo
Kristen Lyons
Senyo Dotsey
author_facet James Boafo
Kristen Lyons
Senyo Dotsey
author_sort James Boafo
collection DOAJ
description International aid in the form of development assistance helps developing countries meet their development needs. Aid is also used as a conduit to drive the interests of donor countries in recipient countries. In Ghana, there is a renewed interest from donors to drive agriculture transformation through investment in market-based policies. However, little is known about how development assistance is used by donor countries to promote their interests in the Ghanaian agriculture sector. This article draws on policy documents and interviews with policy actors and donor stakeholders to understand the processes and outcomes of agriculture sector policymaking in Ghana. Our findings demonstrate the ways financial, technical, and other resources are deployed by donors to shape agricultural policy outcomes. We further demonstrate how donors promote market-based solutions in the agriculture sector. We conclude by reflecting on the limits of these donor-led agricultural policies in meeting the needs of Ghana's smallholder farmers.
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publisher SAGE Publishing
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series Africa Spectrum
spelling doaj-art-e33880ec119e4838bca81d519588ec692025-08-20T02:41:02ZengSAGE PublishingAfrica Spectrum0002-03971868-68692025-08-016010.1177/00020397251325868International Aid and Its Role in Shaping Agriculture Policy Narratives in GhanaJames Boafo0Kristen Lyons1Senyo Dotsey2 Indo-Pacific Research Centre, , Perth, WA, Australia School of Social Science, , Brisbane, Australia Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST), University of Turin & The Polytechnic University of Turin, Turin, ItalyInternational aid in the form of development assistance helps developing countries meet their development needs. Aid is also used as a conduit to drive the interests of donor countries in recipient countries. In Ghana, there is a renewed interest from donors to drive agriculture transformation through investment in market-based policies. However, little is known about how development assistance is used by donor countries to promote their interests in the Ghanaian agriculture sector. This article draws on policy documents and interviews with policy actors and donor stakeholders to understand the processes and outcomes of agriculture sector policymaking in Ghana. Our findings demonstrate the ways financial, technical, and other resources are deployed by donors to shape agricultural policy outcomes. We further demonstrate how donors promote market-based solutions in the agriculture sector. We conclude by reflecting on the limits of these donor-led agricultural policies in meeting the needs of Ghana's smallholder farmers.https://doi.org/10.1177/00020397251325868
spellingShingle James Boafo
Kristen Lyons
Senyo Dotsey
International Aid and Its Role in Shaping Agriculture Policy Narratives in Ghana
Africa Spectrum
title International Aid and Its Role in Shaping Agriculture Policy Narratives in Ghana
title_full International Aid and Its Role in Shaping Agriculture Policy Narratives in Ghana
title_fullStr International Aid and Its Role in Shaping Agriculture Policy Narratives in Ghana
title_full_unstemmed International Aid and Its Role in Shaping Agriculture Policy Narratives in Ghana
title_short International Aid and Its Role in Shaping Agriculture Policy Narratives in Ghana
title_sort international aid and its role in shaping agriculture policy narratives in ghana
url https://doi.org/10.1177/00020397251325868
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