Environmental Sustainability And Decent Work Potentials Among Organic Pineapple Farmers In The Ekumfi District In The Central Region Of Ghana

Abstract

The agricultural sector is critical to a country's overall economy because it employs more people than any other sector in many nations around the world. The introduction of neoliberal policies which concentrated much on the economic aspect of agriculture took away the interest in environmental and social concerns. Yet, for agriculture to be sustainable, there is the need to pay attention to all three dimensions of sustainability. Even though neoliberal policies have been argued to contribute to economic improvement, sustainability is weak if it does not improve the social and environmental dimensions. The study sought to explore environmental sustainability and decent work potentials among organic pineapple farmers in the Ekumfi District. An interpretivist approach which uses a qualitative research design was adopted. The target population was organic pineapple farmers, farmworkers, and stakeholders/ key informants in the Ekumfi District. It adopted the purposive sampling procedure, and data was collected using interviews and focus group discussions. The study concludes that organic pineapple farming promotes environmental sustainability. This is because farmers adopt the best organic practices based on organic principles, which present their activities as very safe since they do not engage in the use of harmful chemicals and burning. Also, the decent work indicators give organic pineapple farmers good work conditions, better access to training, credit, safety and increase in income. The study recommends that government policies need to focus on areas with the greatest potential for organic farming and set policies to favour the work conditions of farmers.