The major economic potential product of the District is cash crop production. The major crops cultivated in the district are yam, maize, pepper, groundnut, tomatoes and garden eggs while the district is reputed to be the largest producer of cashew nut in the country. The district indisputably leads in cashew production but unfortunately the produce are carted and exported annually in their raw state by both local and foreign merchants to the little benefit of the district and the nation as a whole. Presently, the cashew nuts are processed into nuts under subsistence levels but large scale processing is required to encourage farmers to produce more and reap from their labour.

Types of crops (competitive advantage and proven potential for food security, industrial growth and export) are as presented below; Land Tenure and Farming Systems: The lands in the district are owned by the three paramouncies and hence have control on the use of the land within their jurisdictions.

All the subjects within a paramountcy who work on the land hold them in trust for the paramount chief. Any attempt for large tracks of land for commercial purposes must there be done in consultation with the paramouncies. The common farming systems practiced within the district are the mixed and mono cropping. The average farm size is about 1hectre (2.5 acres) while proportion of women with access to land for cultivation is about 30%.

The major challenges confronting the agriculture sector in the district include but not limited to the following;

Inadequate access to Agriculture Extension Agents (AEA). Current AEA – Farmer ratio is 1:1500.

• Inadequate and untimely access to capital/credit for farming.
• Lack of irrigation facilities to promote all year round farming.
• Erratic weather conditions.
• Low and unstable price of farm produce.
• Weak producer organizations.

Refer to the tables in pdf file below