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.
