Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Ghana
Geographical Regions of West Africa
Temperatures are normally higher in the north than in the south except
during harmattan period when morning temperatures are lower in the North.
Rainfall decreases from the coast inland and soils tend to vary according to
the rainfall regimes. The vegetation belts of West Africa correspond to the
rainfall regions.
The South is characterized by heavy rainfall, leached soils, forest and tree
crops, forest products and mineral-rich rocks. Generally more developed. The
rainfall exceeds 2000mm (80ins) per annum; spread over 9 months and
features two-maxima regime, usually January- July and September-October.
The North has limited rainfall which is concentrated over a short period
alternating with a long dry season and severe harmattan winds. The rainfall
reduces northwards with increasing distance from the sea. It has leached
soils and the vegetation is mainly savannah woodland. Pastorialism is
pervasive and the foodstuffs are cereals maize, guinea corn, millet and
groundnuts.
The differences are partly due to historical factors and differences associated
with modern economic development. Islam pre-dominates the interior and far
west-coast and Christianity is more prevalent in the south.
Export crops in the South are dominated by perennial tree crops- cocoa,
rubber, oil palm. The export crops in the North are cotton and groundnuts.
Cattle rearing are common in the far north which is free of tsetse-fly. The
Fulani, the traditional herdsmen, are nomadic and usually migrate
southwards
Although there are differences between the South and the North in West
Africa but there are also some similarities between the two broad regions.
Both zones had contacts with Europeans and colonized. North (trans-saharan
trade), South (contacts along the coast). These contracts led to the
introduction and spread of Islam in the North and Christianity in the South.
poor communication
subsistence agriculture
the low density of roads, except the few routes traversing it to link the more
developed and more densely populated regions to the south and the north.
prevalence of diseases.
this zone contributes very little to the export trade but it has vast areas of land
for settlement. Climatic and soil conditions permit cultivation of the root crops of
the South and the grains of the North. All of these factors contributes to higher
poverty levels in the Middle Belt.
Middle Belt of West Africa but it does not stretch strictly east-west across the middle
of the country.
Relief and Geological features
Over 90% of Ghanas Middle Belt is underlain by the rocks of the Voltaian formation
consisting of shales, mudstone, sandstones, arkoses, conglomerates, tillites and
limestone. The shales and mudstone are the most important and cover the central
and the eastern parts of the area.
The rocks of the Voltaian are flat-bedded and the terrain is flat or gently undulating
at a general elevation under 1,000 feet except at the western and southern rims
which have erosion scarps of 2,000 feet. Rivers and streams mainly the White and
Red Voltas, Oti, Pru and Sene), flow through this zone But large areas of the zone
have no easy access to these sources of water. Most of the rivers fluctuate in
volume: there are floods in the rainy season which are later reduced to a series of
ponds or dry completely up. These have implication for agriculture.
prevalence of diseases e.g. tsetsefly and stimulium fly which cause sleeping
sickness and river blindness, CSM. But these are being eradicated in the
worst affected areas.
High poverty levels
low degree of economic development and poverty. All these characteristics
contribute to the low level of development in the middle belt of Ghana.
There are other factors including historical factors.
Historical factors: The immediate environs of the Black Volta in Gonjaland and of
the Afram River and extensive areas of the zone in the Upper West Region were
more densely inhabited. But in the late 19 th century, two slave raiders, Samori and
Babatu, destroyed a large proportion of the settlements around Wa, Gonja and Tumu
areas. The inhabitants were also killed or sold into slavery. These historical factors
contribute to the low average population density of the zone.
Gonjaland was raided by the Asantes and large areas were laid waste and
impoverished. The Germans destroyed Salaga but it was rebuilt with British
protection. In the Krachi district of the Middle Belt, settlements are located in the
western and eastern borders and the centre is sparsely populated or virtually empty
because of wars. The border areas became an asylum for refugees from surrounding
regions. Inaccessibility and poor transportation facilities account for the emptiness
of the northern ends of the district.
Past efforts to introduce large-scale commercial agriculture and to repopulate part
of Middle Belt, have not been successful. E.g. In 1902, farmers in central Gonja were
encouraged to cultivate cotton on a large scale but the scheme was abandoned in
1916 as quantities required could not be produced. Farmers also preferred to
concentrate on food crops for their household than on cotton cultivation. In
contemporary times, many people particularly the youth are moving from this zone
to more urban centres in the south. This does not encourage high productivity and
economic development.