Agriculture plays an important role inthe economies of most countries in Africa. However, fewAfrican countries have been able to capitalize on thesector's considerable potential to contribute toeconomic development through commercialization. Few havecreated an enabling environment for agricultural finance inwhich lenders and other agents are encouraged to developinnovative financial products that are well tailored to meetthe needs of local producers. Few African countries havepurposefully set out to encourage the use of modern farmmachinery. Some, however, have invested in roadinfrastructure and transport facilities to reducetransaction costs and improve producers' access tomarkets. The countries that have undertaken initiatives toexpand producers' access to agricultural technologiessuch as certified or hybrid seeds and fertilizers havegenerally been the most effective at increasing agriculturalproductivity. The research described in this volume used aset of agribusiness indicators to collect data that capturethe performance of the agriculture sector in the Republic ofGhana, using a list of preliminary indicators covering thefollowing areas: (i) access to and availability of certifiedseed; (ii) availability of and access to fertilizer; (iii)access to farm machinery, particularly tractor hire servicesfor land preparation; (iv) access to agricultural andagro-enterprise finance; (v) cost and efficiency oftransport; (vi) measures of policy certainty and theorientation of the enabling environment as perceived by theprivate sector; and (vii) various policy, trade, and fiscalmeasures. Ghana was the first country in which theseindicators were tested for ease and consistency. Theindicators were then finalized and used for data collectionin two other African countries (Ethiopia and Mozambique).
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