Managing Farm Labour in Ghana

Who turns up at five in the morning, and why it matters

On a farm near Kasoa the first question of the day is not what to plant. It is who has come. A farm with eight people on the gate at dawn can clear a field before the heat starts. The same farm with three people and two apologies will not finish until the afternoon, and the weeds will have had an extra week to get ahead.

Labour is the cost most small farmers underestimate and the one they find hardest to control. Seed and feed are bought in bags and counted. People are paid by the day, they have their own lives and their own problems, and they will go to the farm down the road if your pay is late. Managing labour is therefore mostly about planning, clear terms and fair treatment, not about pushing harder.

Our hatchery in Opeikuma employs no field hands, which is one reason we pay attention to how other farms manage theirs. We do see the same labour pattern on poultry farms, where a few people look after a house of birds every morning. The principles in this article apply to both, and they will help if you are planning to add crops or livestock next to your poultry. Start with our poultry business plan guide so the labour sums for birds are clear before you add anything else.

Family labour, casual hands and the people in between

Most Ghanaian farms run on three kinds of labour at once. Family members work the farm as a matter of course, and their time is real even when it is not paid. Casual or day labourers come in for specific jobs such as clearing, planting, weeding or harvest, and are paid for the day or the task. Regular workers are the few people who stay on through the year and may have a formal or informal contract.

Between these groups sit the people who follow the season. In the north, many workers move south for planting and harvest, and some farms in the south rely on a group that arrives for a few weeks each year. Those arrangements work best when the farm owner knows the group leader, agrees the numbers in advance and pays the group leader on a fixed date.

Each type needs different handling. Family labour needs clear roles so that nobody assumes someone else will do the job. Casual labour needs a sign-up, a start time and a pay point at the end of the day. Regular workers need a written contract, a pay date they can count on and a place to rest. Mixing these up is where most farm disputes begin.

Mapping the year: when labour peaks

Labour follows the crop calendar. In the forest and coastal zones, the major rains usually bring planting in the first half of the year, weeding in the wet months and harvest in the later part of the year. In the northern savannah the rains are shorter and more concentrated, so the peaks are compressed into a few months. The exact timing changes from year to year, so use your own records and the advice of your local agric extension officer.

Plan the hiring around the two peaks, planting and harvest. A farm that is fully staffed in March and short in August is paying for the wrong time. Where a harvest peak is too big for one farm, a group of growers can share a team, as described in our guide to farm-to-market aggregation. Give your casual workers a rough calendar at the start of the year, so they can plan their own work and come back when you need them.

Setting pay: daily rates, piece rates and the minimum wage

Ghana's national minimum wage is reviewed each year through the National Tripartite Committee, and it applies to employees in general. Check the current figure with the Ministry of Labour, Jobs and Employment or the National Labour Commission before you agree a rate. Do not rely on a figure from an old notice or a neighbour's word.

Daily rates are the simplest. A worker agrees to a day, a start time and a rate, and is paid at the end of the day or the end of the week. Piece rates pay for a unit of work, such as a row weeded or a sack of cassava stems cut. Piece rates reward speed but can lead to rushed work that damages the crop, so pair them with a quality check. Ask the worker to show you the work at the end of each day, and pay for the work that passes.

Whatever method you use, write the rate on the work sheet and have the worker sign or mark it. A payment that is not recorded will be disputed later, even when it was paid in full.

Worked example: a two-hectare maize season

The example below uses assumed person-days for one season on two hectares of maize. The numbers are for teaching purposes. Your own figures will depend on the soil, the weather, the variety, the weeds and how many hands you have. Use your records from last season where you can, and replace the assumed days with your own.

Once you have your daily rate from the current market, multiply it by the total planned days. That is your labour budget for the crop. If the sum does not fit the cash you have, change the plan before the season, not during it. Cutting the second weeding to save money often costs more at harvest than it saved.

Track the actual days against the plan. If the first weeding took twenty days instead of twelve, the cause might be a late planting, a wet season or a team that needed better supervision. Each cause calls for a different fix next year.

Written terms, even for a single day

Ghana's Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) sets out basic rights for workers, including pay, hours, rest and leave. Whether a worker is casual, seasonal or permanent, the farm owner should be able to show what was agreed. A simple written note is enough for a short job. A fuller contract is better for a regular worker who stays through the year.

For any worker, write down the start date, the expected hours, the rate and the pay date, the tasks, the tools provided, whether food or transport is included, and how a dispute is raised. Have the worker sign or mark the note, and give them a copy. If a worker cannot read, read it aloud in their language and record that you did.

• Start and end date, or the task and the day it covers.
• Hours, rest breaks and what happens if rain stops the work.
• Rate, pay date and the method of payment.
• Tools, protective gear and who pays for any damage.
• Food, water, accommodation or transport, if provided.
• How a complaint is raised, and who the worker can call.

Keep the signed notes with your farm records, alongside the kind of log our poultry record-keeping guide describes. They protect you as much as the worker, and they make it easier to answer any question from a labour officer.

Safety on the farm: spraying, machinery and heat

Farm injuries are common, and they are often caused by tasks that look simple. Knives used for cutting cassava stems, tractors and ploughs, unguarded pumps, and heavy sacks lifted without help all cause injury. Crop protection products are a separate risk, and the people who mix and apply them need training and protective equipment.

Do not send anyone to spray without the protective gear named on the product label, and do not let children handle spray equipment or pesticides. Store chemicals away from food, water and the poultry house, and keep the containers closed and labelled. Wash hands and change clothes after spraying, and keep the first aid kit in a known place with someone trained to use it.

Heat is the risk that gets less attention than it deserves. Workers in the northern savannah in the dry season and workers in any zone during an unusually hot spell can suffer heat exhaustion. Start early, take shade breaks, provide clean drinking water and avoid heavy work in the hottest hours. Your agric extension officer or local health facility can advise on the signs to watch for, and our guide to using agric extension services in Ghana explains how to ask for a visit.

Housing, food and the things that keep people coming back

A worker who has to walk two hours to a farm, eat nothing until dusk and sleep under a leaking roof will not stay for the harvest, however good the pay. Workers who travel for the season usually weigh accommodation, food, water and the reliability of pay above the day rate. Ask what your workers need, and write the answers into the plan.

Clean drinking water is the first need. A covered tank or a clean well, a shaded rest area, and a toilet that is not in the field will do more for retention than a small rise in pay. If you provide meals, agree the cost and how it is deducted, in writing, before the work starts.

Transport from town to farm is the other common problem. A pick-up or shared van run on fixed times lets workers plan. If the farm is far from any settlement, ask a worker group to choose a shared transport arrangement and agree the cost in advance.

Supervision that does not turn into shouting

A good supervisor sets the task for the day, shows the worker what good work looks like, checks the work and pays fairly. A poor supervisor shouts, changes the task every hour and blames the team when the crop does not grow. Most labour trouble on Ghanaian farms comes from the second kind of supervision, usually from an owner who is tired and under pressure.

Give each worker or team a clear task list at the start of the day, and check it at the end. Use a simple sheet with the task, the field, the number of workers and the output. A team that finishes its task can leave early, and a team that does not should know why before the next morning.

Hold a short meeting at the end of the first week of each season. Ask what is working and what is not, and write down the answers. A worker who has been asked for their view is far more likely to stay, and far more likely to flag a problem early.

Tax, social security and what the paperwork asks for

Employers in Ghana have obligations on tax and social security. Employees' income is subject to tax under the Ghana Revenue Authority's rules, and formal employees are covered by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) contributions. The rules differ for casual and seasonal workers, and they can change, so ask an accountant or the relevant office how they apply to your payroll.

Keep a payroll book with each worker's name, the days worked, the rate, the amount paid and any deductions. Keep the receipts for food, transport and tools. A simple monthly summary helps when you file returns, and it helps you spot a worker who is being paid twice or not at all.

If you are unsure whether a worker counts as an employee, ask before you pay them. The cost of a wrong guess is usually higher than the cost of a short conversation with an adviser.

When a worker leaves, or a dispute starts

Workers leave farms for reasons that have nothing to do with the owner, such as a new job, a family matter or the rains starting. Others leave because of late pay, unsafe work or a supervisor who is unfair. A short exit conversation tells you which one it is, and often reveals a problem you can fix before the next season.

When a dispute cannot be settled between the two of you, the National Labour Commission handles labour disputes, and the district labour office can give advice. Keep your payroll book, the signed work notes and any messages about the dispute. Avoid withholding a final payment as a way of punishing a worker, because that is the most common reason a small dispute becomes a formal complaint.

If a worker is injured on the farm, take them to the nearest health facility, record the date and the cause in your book, and keep the receipts for any treatment you paid for. Ask your insurer, if you have one, what it covers. Our poultry farm insurance guide explains how insurance compares with paying out of pocket.

Checklist for the first hiring round

Work through this list before you take on your first team, and again before each peak.

1. Have you mapped the tasks and peak months on your farm calendar?
2. Have you checked the current minimum wage and agreed a rate in writing?
3. Does each worker have a signed work note with the start, rate and pay date?
4. Is there clean drinking water, a rest area and a toilet on the farm?
5. Have spraying workers been given the protective gear named on the label?
6. Are children kept away from chemicals, machinery and heavy loads?
7. Is there a first aid kit with a known location and a trained person?
8. Is the payroll book up to date, with receipts kept for food, transport and tools?
9. Do you know who to call at the labour office or the National Labour Commission if a dispute starts?

Once your crop calendar is clear, the labour plan and the poultry plan can share a team on a quiet day. If you want to bring chicks onto the farm for the first time, our day-old chicks page sets out the breeds and the starting stock, and you can place a request through the order page. For questions about partnership and bulk orders, contact our partner team or WhatsApp us on +233 24 915 1503.

Questions farmers ask