Operation Feed Yourself was an agricultural program administered in Ghana under military general and head-of-state Ignatius Kutu Acheampong. This policy was initiated in February 1972 and remained until the end of Acheampong's regime in 1978. Operation Feed Yourself aimed to increase levels of food crops produced in Ghana for domestic consumption. Ideologically, the program was an attempt toward self-sufficiency. Ultimately, Operation Feed Yourself failed to improve domestic food conditions in Ghana as local food crops remained scarce and price levels on these remained high.
Background
Colonial Background
Ghana became a recognized, independent country in 1957. While under the colonial rule of Great Britain, Ghana's agricultural structure was engineered to produce lucrative crops (palm oil in the 19th century and cocoa in the 20th century) for the profit of the British mainland. Because living conditions in Ghana were harsh on Europeans, settler-agriculture was not a significant presence and instead Ghanaian agriculture under British rule relied primarily on peasants. Peasant populations in Ghana willingly collaborated with a system of export-oriented agriculture in exchange for the compensation provided by British rule. As a result, Ghana's agricultural system leading up to Operation Feed Yourself was export-oriented and produced crops tailored for European rather than domestic tastes.
Kofi Busia Regime (1969-72) Kofi Abreba Busia's regime as Prime Minister immediately preceded the regime of Ignatius Kutu Acheampong and Operation Feed Yourself. Busia's removal from office at the hands of Acheampong was strongly motivated by Ghana's economic performance under Busia. Busia's regime produced a decline in per capita production and per capita income without a proposed plan in response. Busia was also heavily reliant on aid from western countries, characteristic which was despised by Acheampong who hinged his regime on self-reliance.
Goals
The primary goal of Operation Feed Yourself was to increase the volume and diversity of agriculture intended for domestic consumption in Ghana. Specifically, the program's first "Five Year Plan" set as a goal 6% annual growth in agricultural output. Ghana had produced an annual growth rate in agricultural output of 2.6% between 1969 and 1972, therefore reaching 6% would require achieving a 3.4% annual growth soon after the program's initiation. This growth in agriculture would also have significant effects on employment levels. The Acheampong government projected an increase of 0.8 million in the amount of farmers nationwide by the year 1990. Additionally, the program projected gains in GDP contributed by agriculture from 1,800 million cedis at the start of the program to 2,600 million cedis by 1990. Ideologically, the goal of Operation Feed Yourself was self-reliance, an uplift of Ghana by its own people.
Program Structure
Zones
With the intent to maximize crop production, Operation Feed Yourself divided Ghana's territory into 9 zones and assigned to each zone the production of the crops most profitably grown there. The zones and crop assignments were as follows:
Eastern Region: cassava, maize, plantains, sugarcane, tea, avocado, citrus, and yams.
Central region: maize, yams, cassava, plantain, rice, pineapple, and sugarcane.
Western Region: plantain, palm oil, bananas, rice, and coconut.
Ashanti Region: plantain, maize, soya bean, and yams.
Brong Ahafo: tomatoes, plantain, maize, yams groundnuts, rice, and soya beans.
Greater Accra: maize, cassava, vegetables, rice, watermelons, and cashew.
Volta Region: cassava, rice, maize, and yams.
Northern and Upper Regions: yams, guinea corn, maize, groundnut, millet, and rice.
Administrative Structure
Operation Feed Yourself was a program within Ghana's Ministry of Agriculture. The program's structure included components at the national and regional levels. At the national level, the principal agent leading Operation Feed Yourself was the Commissioner of Agriculture, who oversaw the entire program. Much of the program's implementation was carried out through the National Operations Committee, which was composed of departments specializing in food production and distribution: The Department of Agricultural Economy, the Department of Fisheries, the Seed Multiplication Unit, the Crop Production Unit and the Agricultural Mechanization Unit. The National Operations Committee had am important agent for the execution of its plans in the Program Control Executive, who issued all instructions within Operation Feed Yourself.