The Expansion of a Pineapple Plantation in Ghana

Abstract

Agriculture plays a greater role in the affairs of any state or economy. It is one of the key economic sectors of a nation of which contributions made to a nation's well-being are of great importance. Agriculture, as it is well known, is basically of utmost importance to developing nations wherein the masses or the bulk of the population, particularly those in the rural areas, make ends meet by either engaging in subsistence or commercial agricultural activities. The Ghanaian government adoption of a private sector export-led growth strategy that encompasses the development and promotion of non-traditional export commodities, envisaged a surge in production, marketing and sale of many of the nation's non-traditional produce, notably pineapples, mangoes, bananas, to name but a few. This increase in production, marketing and sale of non-traditional commodities is contributing a large share to revenues from agriculture and making the sector to account for almost half of the country's gross domestic product and export earnings. In addition, it partly helps solve the unemployment problem that was once an endemic phenomenon in rural areas. This study examines the feasibility of the expansion drive by the Princess Cold Stores Limited of its pineapple plantation to include the possibility of exporting a substantial percentage of the produce to the European market. An assessment on the project viability is taken from the perspectives of different stakeholders and the results show that the incremental benefits to derive from undertaking the project exceeds its related incremental costs. This excess benefit, therefore, translates the project feasibility to its respective stakeholders and as such was found viable and also having the capacity to contribute immensely to the financial net cash flow and economic benefit of the project and to the economy at large.