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The Jomoro District, covering approximately 1,344 square kilometres of outstanding natural beauty, was established in 1988 from the former Nzema District under Legislative Instrument 1394. It accounts for about 5.6 percent of the total land area of the Western Region. The district shares boundaries with Wassa Amenfi and Aowin Suaman to the north, Nzema East District to the east, the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire to the west, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south.
Jomoro experiences a typical equatorial monsoon climate, characterized by minimal variations in mean annual temperature, air pressure, and humidity. The district is widely recognized as one of the wettest areas in Ghana, with average annual rainfall exceeding 1,732 millimetres. Rainfall occurs mainly in two major seasons, from April to July and from September to November, with a short dry spell in August and a longer dry period from December to January.
It is this favourable climate, more than soil conditions, that strongly supports lush vegetation and agricultural productivity in the district. Jomoro is well known for the cultivation of major cash crops such as coconut, oil palm, rubber, and cocoa. The district lies entirely within the tropical rainforest belt and features coastal vegetation dominated by mangrove swamps, further enhancing its rich ecological and environmental value.
A developed district where there is peace and prosperity for all.
The Jomoro District Assembly is to ensure the improvement of living standards of the people through the effective utilization and management of human and material resources with the active support of the private sector, development partners including non-government organizations.
Culture is broad and may be defined from many perspectives. It is a way of life of a group of people, which deals with customs and beliefs and social organization. Unlike many districts of this country, Jomoro in its entirety is under one paramountcy at the traditional capital located in Beyin. The annual festival of the people called kundum brings all the citizenry from afar and near to their respective towns and villages
Large proportions of the population are the Nzemas who are the natives and constitutes as high as 65.4% of the total population. The other significant tribes are Fantis(13.8%), Ewes(8.8%), Twi speaking extraction (3.2%). This portrays the District as being heterogeneous in terms of ethnicity, but has has a positive repercussion in terms of development since the people will see development projects as theirs and for that matter would be willing to contribute towards it as well as ensure their sustainable use. The minority groups; Ewes, Fanti, Twi speaking extracts and others have lived in the District for the past twenty (20) years and are therefore attached to the area.
While in the rural areas communal spirit is high through participation in the construction of school blocks, toilet, clinics, community centres etc, the same cannot be said of the urban centres. This might be the cosmopolitan nature of the urban areas as there is the general knowledge that Government is to provide for everything. In the urban centres, organizations, churches and the District Assembly only carry on activities.
Western Christian religions are widely practiced in the district and are often adapted to local traditions. Traditional beliefs strongly influence social behavior, health practices, and perceptions of illness, with many people preferring traditional healers over orthodox medical care. This has contributed to limited use of antenatal services in some rural areas. The expansion of formal education has created tension between traditional and modern values, particularly between older and younger generations. Despite this, traditional beliefs continue to serve as a strong unifying force that, if properly harnessed, can promote social cohesion, communalism, and development.
Though the District is said to be peaceful, there are pockets of chieftaincy disputes at Bonyere, Newtown and some few areas, which should be looked at seriously.The dispute has divided these areas into factions and has even affected local level governance in terms of the performance of the Area Councils. The non-functioning of the Bonyere Area Council is attributed to the endemic conflict in the area. This situation has retarded development, as the council cannot meet to generate revenue for development
The economy of the district is mixed consisting of large traditional agricultural sector made up of mostly small-scale peasant farmers, fishermen, a growing informal sector of small businessmen, artisans and technicians and an insignificant proportion in the processing and manufacturing sector.
The major occupational structure in the district is agriculture, which absorbs 54.1% of the total labour force in the district. Population engaged in industry and service is comparatively small. According to 2010 PHC, farming activities include crop farming, tree planting, livestock rearing and fish farming. The district is made up of 34,503 households, of which 15,409 households representing 44.7 % are engaged in agriculture activities.
Out of the households that engage in agriculture activities, 53.8% are at the rural sector whiles, 29.7% are urban settlers. A difference of 24.1% of rural households, more than urban households, shows more rural household members engage in agriculture activities than urban household members
The Total Number of Employed people in the district amount to 58,161 which represent 57.8% of both sexes’ whiles the total of unemployed is 3,470 representing 3.4% of both sexes. Those not economically active amounts to 38,980 which also represents 38.8% of both sexes. [Source: Ghana Statistical Service, 2010 PHC]
Agriculture is the backbone of the District’s economy. Besides employing about 65-70% of the District’s labour force, it has a great potential of sparking off agro-based industrial activities and producing a wide range of food and cash crops for internal and external markets.
This sector is, however beset with numerous problems basic among them are:
Fishing and farming are the main sources of livelihood in the Jomoro District, but both are under significant pressure. Declining fish stocks caused by destructive fishing practices and frequent algal blooms have reduced fish catches, threatened food security, and displaced fishery based livelihoods. Low agricultural productivity, worsened by poor sandy soils and the decline of the coconut industry due to disease and ageing crops, has further weakened the local economy.
At the same time, limited access to quality basic education, inadequate infrastructure, and shortages of trained teachers have led to high school dropout rates and poor academic performance, pushing many young people into fishing. These challenges have resulted in low educational standards, increased pressure on fisheries, and heightened vulnerability of coastal communities to climate and non climate related shocks.