Ghana...A Land of Resources

Map of natural resources of Ghana. Prof. Kwame Henaku Addo, 2013. http://www.ghana.gov.gh/images/documents/naturally_resourced.pdf

            The Republic of Ghana is rich in both agricultural and mineral resources. Reader, speaking of the  Ashanti kingdom, whose borders encompassed the area of West Africa comprising modern Ghana, noted, "Asante is the only part of Africa whose inhabitants found both mineral and agricultural resources in abundant quantity" (Reader 1999, 424). According to Professor Kwame Henaku Addo, Ghana's mining industry comprises more than half of the nation's GDP, mineral production accounts for nearly 40 percent of exports, Ghana is considered a world-class producer of gold and cocoa and an emerging petroleum producing nation (Addo 2013).

Ghanian agricultural, ore, and petroleum products. Accessed 

September 22, 2016.  http://caglobalint.com/recruitment 

africa/natural-resources-agriculture-ghana/.

            Agriculture accounts for a large part of Ghana's economy, and approximately 40 percent of the working population is employed in the agricultural industry (GhanaWeb n.d.). Agricultural products include timber, oil palm, rubber, and especially cocoa. Ghana also produces kola nuts, which Reader describes as “…an addictive stimulant whose intensely bitter taste relieved thirst and became a symbol of hospitality throughout … West Africa … By the late twentieth century its influence had embraced the planet, as an ingredient of the world’s most popular soft drink: Coca-Cola” (Reader 1999, 278). 
            

Ghana's greatest natural resource-gold. Accessed September
22, 2016. http://caglobalint.com/recruitmentafrica/natural-
resources-agriculture-ghana/.

            Mineral and ore products include diamonds, iron ore, copper, clay, and salt (Addo 2013). However, Ghana’s most important natural resource is gold, a resource so plentiful that Ghana was formerly known as “The Gold Coast.” It was this abundance of gold, as well as the Atlantic slave trade, which fueled the rise of the Ashanti Empire and incited European imperialism; the Portuguese, Dutch and British sought to control the area, with the British finally succeeding and establishing a colony in 1874.

Ghana possesses rich oil reserves. Accessed September
22, 2016. http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage
/NewsArchive/Ghana-attracts-major-oil-firms-28166

            Recent discoveries of oil and natural gas reserves in the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of Ghana have attracted the attention of world oil consuming nations, including the United States, and promise to make Ghana an important player in the energy sector (Ghana Strikes Oil in Commercial Quantities 2007).

            Ghana is a nation rich in natural resources. Agricultural products such as the kola nut and rich gold resources stimulated maritime trade and attracted European imperialism. Gold was present in such abundance it resulted in the area being christened “The Gold Coast,” an appellation which persisted until the newly named Republic of Ghana declared independence from Britain in 1956. Ghana’s recently discovered oil reserves promise to increase the nation’s wealth and standard of living, and once again establish Ghana’s importance as a nation of trade.

Bibliography

Addo, Kwame Henaku. "Naturally Resourced." Government of Ghana. 2013.             
            Accessed September 22, 2016. http://www.ghana.gov.gh/images/documents/  
            naturally_ resourced.pdf.

"Ghana Strikes Oil in Commercial Quantities." GhanaWeb. June 18, 2007. Accessed September 22, 2016. http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Ghana-strikes-oil-in-commercial-quantities-125783.

GhanaWeb. n.d. Accessed September 22, 2016. http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/ country_information/.

Reader, John. Africa: A Biography of the Continent. New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1999.