In Most parts of Upper West Region, farming Annual Crops is part of our culture and this has affected livelihood of several farmers In the Region.

These crops cannot be inherited nor support any farmer to get a loan from any bank because, they aren’t reliable.

They aren’t reliable because they may not yield in the farming season as expected and this can generate losses to the farmer after investing in fertilizer etc.

Several people have lost millions due to drought in farms, a development that could be prevented if farmers focused on perennial crops such as cashew, coffee maize, pawpaw, mangoes etc on large scale. Such plants can get one a loan even in difficult time because those trees hardly die like Annual Crops such as maize.

They cannot be destroyed by animals such as cattle, sheep, goats etc compared to maize, millet etc.

This means that most farmers in the North of Ghana, especially Upper West Region should invest in perennial crops to prevent rural urban migration and looming poverty.

The most reason people grow annual crops is the fear of poverty, they cannot wait for four to five years to see the yield but one can mix them and later focus on perennial crops.

Monoculture has been discovered to be the most lucrative industry in the world compared to mono cropping, mixed cropping etc.

Let’s Encourage Monoculture in the North for a better and We’ll resourced society of Farmers.

Areas like Dabo in Wa West District and Kunyukuo in Lawra Municipality have long practiced monoculture and that have improved the lives of mango farmers in the area.

Source: Tuorimuo Elvis Philip