Abstract

Dinko Hanaan Dinko

The quest to create and expand opportunities for development in Ghana has evolved over the years and rural areas have been a field of development experiments. Successive governments since political independence in 1957 have professed various policies, projects and programmes to break the chains of poverty and free up opportunities for growth and stimulate prosperity. Nonetheless, rural areas remains chronically underdeveloped. The paradox of much attention and paltry progress brings to question the effectiveness of development policy in Ghana. This paper traces the trajectory of rural development policy over the first half century of Ghanaian development policy. It draws a parallel between prevailing theories in the past half century and how they shaped development policy. It finds that low agricultural output, rapid population growth and environmental change reign as the supreme triumvirate that has caged the potential of rural dwellers and sapped away progress. Analysis of primary and secondary data reveals a historical chasm between policy and practice. Rural development policy seems to follow a “shampoo” cycle and is often crafted for political capital and natural resource potential to the neglect of real potential and capabilities of the human capital. While rural areas may be geographically peripheral, they remain at the centre of development and developing these areas demands a bold new approach that recognises their potential in its true sense. The paper contends that rural development or underdevelopment is essentially human political agency and nothing else. It is argued that while development policy generally mirrors global trend, there are some local particularities. The paper concludes that development policy only works when political commitment is met with the consensual support of the rural dwellers.