Agricultural Activities Subsistence and large-scale agriculture employs 71.5% of the workforce according to the 2000 population and housing census. The major staple food crops produced in the district include cassava,1 plantain, maize, cocoyam and vegetables. The output per yield is substantially low in the district due to traditional methods of farming with an average farm size of one acre per farmer.

The predominant cash crops are cocoa and oil palm and coffee in some cases. Cocoa is usually cultivated in small to medium sized plantations mostly by settler farmers. Oil palm is cultivated on a large-scale by Benso Oil Palm Plantation (BOPP) NORPALM and smaller companies like WAOPP and Ayiem Oil Mills. 

Some indigenous and settler farmers also cultivate oil palm on medium scale and small scale. Non-traditional crops like black pepper and pineapples which are cultivated in the district have high potential of becoming export crops if they are given serious attention in production and marketing. Other non-traditional crops that could do well in this district are citrus, cashew and banana.

Livestock production is also important in the district; though not on large scale due to the following reasons; lack of improved breeds, inbreeding, lack of proper feeding and poor shelter for the animals. Even though there is some form of veterinary services, there is no substantive veterinary office in the district.

About 98 percent of the farmers rely on traditional methods of farming using slash and burn, simple farm tools such as hoe, cutlass and relying on natural climatic conditions for cropping. These traditional methods lead to fast depletion of the soil nutrients and low production and productivity. 

The use of tractors and other heavy machinery is limited to the oil palm plantation companies. Majority of the farmers do not have access to improved inputs like fertilizer, agric-machinery and other agro-chemicals. The main reasons for this low usage are high prices of these inputs, which many farmers cannot afford. 

Most of the farmers own their lands acquired through the families by inheritance and from family heads  Abunu and Abusa system where land is given out for farming after which proceeds are shared either into two or three as predetermined are also practiced. Other means of land acquisition for farming are outright purchase that is, freehold titles as well as household titles from traditional leaders and other indigenous people. These means of acquisition is not common because most families consider this unacceptable.

There are 19 Agricultural Extension Officers (AEAs) located in all the eight ACs in the district. They are centrally located to serve several communities at a time. The AEA farmer ratio is 1: 1146. The table below shows the production levels of selected crops in the district.

Access to credit is one of the main constraints in the district as far as farming is concerned. Most of the farmers usually rely on personal savings, while others borrow from friends and money lenders to finance their farming ventures. Financial institutions like the Lower Pra Rural Bank play a substantial role in advancing credit to farmers. 

But these facilities are inadequate and only a few farmers benefit from this because Institutions in this district which can provide credit to farmers on favourable terms are inadequate and most farmers cannot afford to meet the pre requisites for loan e.g. collateral securities, bank accounts with specified minimum savings among others and high interest rates charged. Again, some farmers are ignorant of any arrangement to obtain loans.

It is estimated that plantain growers in the district receive 02,400,000 as net profit per planting season. That for maize, cassava, cocoyam and Cocoa are 01,200,000, 04,000,000, 02,000,000, 01,300,000 and 08,460,000 respectively per planting season.

Most of the crops grown in the district are perishable in nature. Examples are plantain, cassava, vegetables and oil palm. There are virtually no arrangements to store these crops. Few farmers use some form of storage facilities and these could store only small quantities of produce for short periods. 

These facilities include cribbarns, sheds, kitchens and storerooms. Poor storage facilities lead to the situation where farmers are compelled to sell off what they have produced at low prices, usually immediately after harvest. It has been realised that substantial amount of farm produce go waste due to poor storage facilities and other causes of post harvest losses.

There are five important markets, namely Daboase, Mpohor, Atobiase, Senchem and Ateiku. The Ateiku market has the largest sphere of influence, followed by Daboase, Senchem, Mpohor and Atobiase in that order. None of the markets listed above has well developed structures. There are smaller markets like those in Ekutuase, Angu, Ayiem and Ebukrom.

The poor road network and conditions also affect the marketing of agricultural produce making prices very low. In the market centres, middlemen and traders from the big cities such as Accra, Cape Coast, Takoradi and Kumasi dictate the prices of agriculture produce.