NATURAL RESOURCES

NATURAL RESOURCES

Nature has been in existence long before time along with its resources. A natural resource refers to anything that is used by humans which is in nature. In other, natural resources can be said to be the resources that occur within the environment in their natural and original form and are not disturbed by humans. Examples of natural resources include water, wood, oil, air, sunlight among others. There is an abundance of natural resources on the planet earth derived from the environment around us.

The list of natural resources can be divided into two groups namely renewable natural resources and non-renewable natural resources. Those resources such as sunlight, water and soil that are able to grow again or comes back from nature are referred to as renewable natural resources. Non-renewable natural resources on the other hand are not able to grow again or come back into nature or if they do, they take a very long time to come back and an example is coal. It must be noted that most natural resources or a greater percentage of natural resources are never perpetual and as such are limited in supply from nature. 

Ghana as a developing country is blessed and endowed with a great amount of natural resources including agriculture, mining and human resources. These processes or practices account for the production of the individual products of natural resources.

Agriculture has been the major or key sector of our economy and still remains the growing manufacturing sector of the economy. The Ghanaian workforce has sixty percent of its employment coming from the agricultural sector which in turn makes up or accounts for forty four percent of the country’s GDP. The county has had cocoa as the second largest export but new exports such as textiles, jewelry, pineapples and cotton are in the process of diversifying the agricultural export profile of Ghana.

The agricultural wealth in addition to mineral resources adds up to Ghana’s natural resources. The rich minerals of Ghana include diamond, aluminum, manganese, bauxite among others. Recently, the mineral gold replaced cocoa as the country’s primary export. Diamond, aluminum and bauxite accounts for a great part of the country’s export. Since the liberalization of the mining sector in 1987, strategic investors from the United States, Australia, Canada and Britain have taking advantage of the new business opportunities. In 1994, diamond production rose by an estimated sixty percent and is still expected to rise with time.

Lastly, Ghana has had an industrious and well-educated workforce as its most valuable resource. The workforce of Ghana has a strong primary, secondary and higher education infrastructure and literacy rate which accounts for an average of fifty three percent. This serves as one of the highest in the continent.

BY: BENEDICTA YAYRA AGORDO
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