Roles played by traditional heads in Ghana

1. They are the custodians of traditional property and land
2. They ensure that customs and traditional rites are observed
3. They serve as links between the central government and the traditional area
4. They mobilize their people to undertake development projects and communal labour
5. They are the spiritual leaders of their people
6. They function as the political leaders/administrators of the traditional area
7. They ensure that peace prevails in the area by settling disputes and conflicts

Major problems facing the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

1. Lack of funds: Some member states ae impoverished to the extent that they cannot honour their financial obligations. They rely on donor countries for assistance with conditions attached to them
2. Language barrier: Because there is no common language, communication becomes difficult among member states. The countries have different official languages such as English, French and Portuguese
3. Defendant on colonial masters: Some states still receive economic aid from their colonial masters and their over dependence on these colonial masters makes them less committed to ECOWAS
4. Large community size: Decision-making is greatly hampered by the large size of the community. Currently, 16 member countries constitute ECOWAS, which is the largest economic community in the world
5. Lack of commitment: As a result of their association to other economic groups, some members do not show the required seriousness in the programs of the community
6. Absence of common currency: Absence of common currency for transactions among member states creates huge transaction losses for traders in the sub-region due to the cost incurred through exchange rates
7. Poor inter-transport and communication links: ECOWAS countries face problem with transport system to link other member countries for effective trading and marketing
8. Political instability (Military takeover): Military takeover/coup d'état in West Africa makes it difficult for ECOWAS to promote its policies and programs in all the member states

Problems of food production in Africa

1. Prolonged drought: Shortage of water greatly reduce the yield of crops. In most instances, there are no irrigation facilities in the farming communities. Farming depend on the rainwater for planting which is not available
2. Pests and diseases: Pest and diseases greatly affect total yield of crops. Most farmers cannot afford the cost to control pests such as locust, grasshoppers, grasscutters, weevils and diseases like corn smut, leaf curl, fungus, etc.
3. Inadequate storage facilities: Most farmers suffer post harvest losses as a result of inadequate storage facilities
4. Lack of capital: Farmers do not practice large scale farming because they cannot access loans to purchase agro-chemicals such as fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides and agro-machinery such as tractors, ploughs, harvesters, etc.
5. High cost of agro-chemicals and machines inputs increase output but are very costly
6. Land litigation: Because of the problems associated with the land tenure system, acquiring vast land for farming becomes difficult
7. Poor road network: Access to farms by roads to convey farm produce to market centres is not easy. Most of the roads are not motorable, as a result, vehicles that try to use them end up broken down or stuck in mud