Agriculture

Agriculture is the leading employer in the District. It is estimated that over 70 percent of the active population depends largely on subsistence farming with an average land holding of less than 1 hectare per person.  As a leading employer, agriculture constitutes the main source of income for the people. The major agriculture products include cocoa and staples such as maize, rice, cassava, yam, cocoyam and plantain but however, marketing of the products is a challenge to the farmers due to the absence of a vibrant marketing centre and non- functioning market in the district capital, Jasikan.

The District is quite self sufficient in food production as a result of the favourable climate and demographic conditions.

The District has a high potential in the cultivation of cash crops such as cocoa, oil palm, citrus on the mountainous forested part of the terrain. The District has a comparative advantage in the cultivation of spices especially ginger. Over three thousand (3,000) hectares of arable lowlands exit for rice production. There also exit over three thousand, five hundred (3,500) hectares of potential lowland for the cultivation of sugarcane.

The potentials of the District are underutilized due to the land tenure system where land is acquired on lease or share cropping basis known as abunu (50% : 50%) or abusa ( 33% : 66%) between the landlords and the tenants respectively. This practice makes the landlords and their children rely on migrant farmers for their daily bread. This habit cultivated has made the indigenes reluctant to farm resulting in the high unemployment rate in the district.