Rethinking Sustainability: Exploring Agriculture and E-waste in Ghana

by Elena & Mara

We are interested in exploring the concept of sustainability in Ghana and examining how actions that we, in the west, consider to be “sustainable” are actually impacting people in Ghana. Although there are many components to the idea of sustainability, we are focusing on two that we have found are especially relevant in Ghana today; the accumulation of e-waste from industrialized countries and the urban mining that result, as well as the way in which farmers and the agriculture industry are navigating a globalized world.

Agriculture

What is sustainable for certain communities? What needs, aspects, or members of the community are prioritized? How does a globalized market and ecotourism/capitalism interact with the desire for sustainable agriculture? My research has led me to understand that sustainability in Ghana is both informed by economic gain and an interest in longevity, instigated through organizational policy and community investment.

The Ghanaian government is interested in economic growth and therefore motivations for sustainable agriculture are often motivated by economic benefit. Ghana is one of the top cocoa producers in the world and agricultural production plays a dominant role in the livelihoods of many households. Therefore, there is significant motivation to participate in the consistently increasing international market, leading to some farming practices that are destroying the land despite presently producing high numbers of crops (Agula, Akudugu, Saa Dittoh & Nantui Mabe, 2018; Victor, Gockowski, Agyeman & Dziwornu, 2010). Nonetheless, there are a number of initiatives geared towards developing more ecologically and human conscious ways to grow agriculture, especially the development of organizational standards of “sustainability” and irrigation farming. The RA (Rainforest Alliance) develops global standards at the field level for sustainable manageable practices, and allows farmers to adopt more ecologically-focused farming practices while placing them into a market where their cocoa will be consistently bought by consumers who want cocoa of a certain taste and quality. Some of the modifications required for this certification include planting a certain proportion of native trees integrated into the crops (Victor et al., 2010). Ultimately, a farmer’s interest in adopting these techniques depends on the willingness of the international market to pay a higher cost for this product, the productivity of the proposed shaded-tree system, and spread and adoption of these practices.

While these practices are evidently positive for both people and land in the long-term, other research suggests that these projects, seeking to spread and sustain such sustainability practices, are dependent on a number of factors. These included the age of the farmers, distance to the farms from their residence, knowledge about the farming practice, types of irrigation schemes available to farmers, and a certain number of individuals who deeply implement the practice in their life (Agula et al., 2018; Marks, Komives & Davis, 2014).

Ultimately, the most meaningful shifts to sustainable agricultural practices are lead by community willingness to engage with the practice, and accessible educational techniques for farmers. In this context, the idea of sustainability is defined as being able to be sustained through time by both providing for people and protecting land to allow for long-term use of the area. In Ghana, I am interested in further exploring the ways that cocoa farming is impacted by different initiatives to alter farming techniques, and what the realities of these “sustainable” practices are.

E-Waste

Electronic waste (E-waste) includes any discarded information and communications technology (ICT) devices, such as computers, phones, televisions, or other electronic products like refrigerators, car parts, washer and dryer machines, whether broken, unusable, or obsolete.  The production of E-waste is a global issue that is growing exponentially, with no current end in sight, as the lifespan of electronic devices continues to decrease. Every year nearly 50 million metric tons of E-waste is generated across the globe (Minter).

The world’s largest E-waste site is in Agbogbloshie, Accra Ghana. Known as Sodom to those who stay there. This place is home to a large community of Ghanaians from all over the country, as well as Nigerians who travel for several days to take part in the urban mining.

Documentary by Vanessa Kanbi: https://youtu.be/aDjDGrrDD7o\

The process of urban mining has various roles: collectors, recyclers, refurbishers, middlemen, scrap dealers, and petty traders. On site in Agbogbloshie, disassemblers take electronics apart, most of which is then burned to separate copper and other metals from those that are not as valuable.

Given this process and the exposure to toxins, it should not be surprising that there exists negative health impacts on those that live and work in this environment. The water and the food consumed in this area are exposed to high levels of lead, antimony, and cadmium.

However, many people are aware of this and still consider this urban mining to be a very lucrative strategy, providing higher income and the ability to support their families. Additionally, Agbogbloshie has become its own community and way of life.

I’m very interested in seeing how Sodom may or may not be connected to Accra. I wonder about the city limits and if there’s a clear distinction between the city and the dump site.

Policy Pathways to E-waste Management proposed by Mara https://docs.google.com/document/d/16ikOYFkqVdSN8gjdKEGAwkMRS1Nxc_S5fTNJH23Vv4w/edit?usp=sharing

Conclusion

Many of the ways that we attempt to approach sustainability in the U.S. are through governmental mechanisms and regulations, while many in Ghana are motivated through more community-based structures. It seems that in Ghana, communities have often decided to take sustainability into their own hands by repurposing and utilizing the resources that they have. While this can lead to many serious problems at times, in the case of E-waste, it can also lead to more effective farming practices that benefit the community and the consumers. Ghanaians have an investment in the long-term future that the United States would benefit in learning from.

References:

Ahmed, Syed Faraz. “The Global Cost of Electronic Waste.” theatlantic.com , September 29, 2016.

Amankwaa, Ebenezer Forkuo. “Livelihoods in Risk: Exploring Health and Environmental Implications of E-waste Recycling as a Livelihood Strategy in Ghana.” Journal of Modern African Studies. 2013.

Caesar Agula, Mamudu Abunga Akudugu, Saa Dittoh, & Franklin Nantui Mabe. (2018). Promoting sustainable agriculture in Africa through ecosystem-based farm management practices: Evidence from Ghana. Agriculture & Food Security, 7(1), 1-11.

Marks, S., Komives, K., & Davis, J. (2014). Community Participation and Water Supply Sustainability: Evidence from Handpump Projects in Rural Ghana. Journal of Planning Education and Research,34(3), 276-286.

Minter, Adam. “The Burning Truth Behind an E Waste Dump in Africa.” Smithsonian.com, 13 Jan. 2016.

Oteng-Ababio, Martin. “Unraveling the Urban Poor’s Engagement with Electronic Waste in Accra, Ghana.” Legon Journal of Sociology. 2013.

Victor, A., Gockowski, J., Agyeman, N., & Dziwornu, A. (2010). Economic Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Certified Sustainable Cocoa Production In Ghana. IDEAS Working Paper Series from RePEc, IDEAS Working Paper Series from RePEc, 2010.