Public sector workers are the best-off group in Ghana, according to a new report from the Ghana Statistical Service, which shows that despite the year-long bout of strikes over public sector pay and salary reforms, those working for Government have experienced higher income increases than any other Ghanaian workers over the past 15 years.

According to Patterns and trends of poverty in Ghana, 1991-1996, which was published by the GSS last month, only 8 percent of public sector workers live below the official poverty line - compared to 10 percent of those employed in the formal private sector, 17 percent of those working in the informal private sector and a massive 46 percent of those working in the food crop industry.

The national average is 29 percent of Ghanaians living on less than 3,708,900 cedis a year – the minimum amount an adult needs to provide for their nutritional and basic non-food needs, according to GSS calculations.

The public sector has not always held the number one position in the regular Ghana Living Standards Surveys. In 1991/2, 35 percent of public sector workers fell below the poverty line, despite the fact they were working for Government; in 1998/9 this figure had reduced somewhat to 23 percent, but still lagged far behind the 11 percent poverty incidence for those working in the formal private sector and even 20 percent of Ghanaians classified as "non-working". It was almost on a par with the 25 percent poverty rate for informal sector workers.

Under the present government, public sector workers have seen a further 15 percent decrease in poverty levels – the most dramatic of any sector.

Meanwhile, the report also reveals the continued disparity between urban and rural poverty levels, and the need for poverty reduction strategies in Ghana to continue to focus on the nation's farmers if they are to make any headway, "particularly the ones not producing cocoa."

An encouraging aspect of the report is its demonstration of how high cocoa prices are helping to reduce poverty in cocoa-growing areas, with the percentage of people living below the poverty line in rural forest areas falling from 61.6 percent in 1991/2 to 27.7 percent in the latest 2005/6 survey.

Yet poverty is a predominantly rural trait: 85.7 percent of Ghanaian living beneath the poverty line live in rural areas, and according to the latest Ghana Living Standards Survey, those working in the food crop industry are the poorest group in the country.

The 46 percent of food farmers who fall below the poverty line are the only economic group to represent a larger share of the national poor than their share of the population. Development initiatives so far may be helping to close the gaps, with schemes such as the President"s Special Initiatives aiming to promote agricultural and provide incentives for farmers to grow.

The report shows the progress which has already been made, with the percentage of 'poor’ farmers dropping from 68 percent in 1991/2, to 59 percent in 1998/9, to today’s 45 percent – but there is still a long way to go.

Export farmers, meanwhile, are the second poorest income group, although their lot is also improving. 24 percent of export farmers are now classified below the poverty line, reduced from 64 percent 15 years ago.