1. Global Value Chains (GVCs) in Ghana
On my first vacation to the UK two years ago, I got attracted to a deliciously ripened bunch of
bananas on one of the stalls at the fruit section of a local grocery shop. I had no banana on my
shopping list but I could simply not walk past without adding a bunch to my basket. To my dismay,
I found on its label: Product of Ghana! I was so happy to see this fruit from my beloved country
Ghana.
A lot of questions raced through my mind including:
how the bananas got to the UK still looking fresh,
which farm in Ghana are the bananas from and
who the lucky farmer is.
A close look on the package of the banana revealed a logo which I later got to know represents
Fairtrade. And it said “Product of Ghana: Imported by Fairtrade.
Infact, I did not take any further interest until during my short course with the World Bank Group
on the theme: Trading for Development in the Age of Global Value Chains.
I have now taken time to understand Global Value Chains and how it is helping both the developed
and developing economies.
Ghana for instance is a developing country and most people can’t afford a three square meal a day.
The story in the rural areas is worse as most of the rural folks lack basic drinking water, poor roads,
lack of well furnished medical facilities and unemployment. Many of these people rely on peasant
farming for their daily bread.
GVCs is however helping change the story through creating jobs for the people and enabling more
people venture in various activities including commercial farming.
Lets delve into the activities of Fairtrade for example. It’s main aim is “to help producers in
developing countries achieve sustainable and equitable trade relations”. With this as an example,
Fairtrade has given an equal platform for local farmers to supply them with goods on their list such
as banana and cocoa for export. This is helping change the living standards of all those involved
through the business growth and job creation.
There are however other sides of GVCs that need to be looked at by the government to protect its
citizens and the environment from abuse and exploitation. An example is the wages received by
some labour force involved in GVC activities. There has been incidents where unskilled workers
for example are exploited just because there is unemployment and are therefore paid lower wages
than what they work for. They are overworked but receive low wages which is not commensurate
to the work they do. This is serious exploitation and must be seriously looked at. Policies must be
set by the government to regulate the activities of parties involved in GVCs to promote fair grounds
for all to benefit especially the poor.
Normally it is the poor who are mostly unskilled and accepts anything in terms of wages for hard
and long hours of work. They do this, fall sick and at the end of the day, what they get in their
2. wages are woefully inadequate to cater for medical expenses. These can further result in life time
medical conditions that can rather worsen their plight.
Another example is that some farmers are not paid what they are supposed to get from these GVC
transactions. For fear of their produce going bad, they accept any price offered them whiles their
exporters make huge profits. There should be transparency and equality in GVC transactions and
government policies can help in this area.
Another downside of GVC activities that need to be looked at is the exploitation of the
environment. An example is a popular site in the capital of Ghana Accra, called Agbogbloshie.
This place is known for the dumping of electronic gadgets and also for its supply of scraps by the
local folks. They get these scraps by burning these electronic gadgets which have been dumped at
the site and sell them to their various buyers for further GVC activities. Their activity creates
massive pollution in the area. It has been established that many people in the area have developed
several health conditions. In order to meet their scrap demands, these people end up polluting the
environment endangering their lives and those in the community.
The government need to streamline the activities of GVCs in order for the gains to far outwit the
loss. It is only through this that the country, firms and individuals especially the poor can benefit
from Global Value Chains.
