Contribution of non-traditional export crops to economic growth in Ghana: evidence from time series analysis (1970–2022)

Ghana’s agricultural sector, with traditional and non-traditional export crops, significantly contributes to GDP. While traditional crops dominate exports, non-traditional crops ensure food security, consumption, employment. However, their economic impact remains understudied as most studies have focused on production and trade quantities. This study examined factors influencing Ghana’s economic growth related to non-traditional export crops, using time series data from 1970 to 2022 from the Food and Agriculture Organization Statistics database. The variables used for the study were cashew nuts, kola nuts, shea nuts, palm oil, pineapples, plantain, and yam as non-traditional export crops and real GDP constant in million USD as proxy for economic growth. The study used stationarity testing through Augmented Dickey-Fuller and Philips-Perron unit roots, with Johansen cointegration confirming long-term relationships among the variables as well as the Distributed Lag model. Results showed that kola nuts, plantain and palm oil had positive relationships with real GDP, while yam, shea nuts, pineapple and cashew nuts had negative relationship with the real GDP in the long run. Short run results that kola nuts and pineapples had positive relationship with real GDP while cashew nuts, plantain, palm oil, shea nuts and yam had inverse relationship with real GDP. Short-term dynamics showed economic adjustments, with crops affecting growth at 47.9% adjustment speed. The study recommends Ghana’s government support research for kola and shea nuts through subsidizing farm inputs. For palm oil and plantain, improve harvesting through training on optimal timing and techniques. It is also important to minimize pineapple losses through better post-harvest handling.