Abstract In theory, learning from past mistakes should result in adapted and improved development policy. However policy learning can be difficult to achieve, and the link between learning and policy change is neither direct nor immediate. In this study we look at learning in agro-industrial policy in Ghana, by tracing the interest in sugar production and tomato processing over six decades. Specifically we ask why four failed factories established in the early 1960s have continued to play central roles in both policy and public discourse. Using policy documents, academic material, and the popular press, we show that Ghana’s policy focus on sugar production and tomato processing has endured, despite the fact that the factories were misconceived, poorly sited, ill-equipped and poorly managed. Indeed, the political ideas that underpinned the establishment of these factories in the early days of independence can be seen in the current One District, One Factory policy. We suggest that it is their symbolic and political value, not their economic value, which keeps the discussion around these factories alive. Even when shut down, they are a physical manifestation of historic commitments by the state, and as such they guarantee the attention of politicians, and hold out hope of a next re-launch. Unfortunately as long as the factories continue to be incorporated into each new generation of agro-industrial policy, it is difficult for any alternatives to gain traction. This analysis highlights the very long overhang of bad decisions, particularly when they are associated with physical infrastructure. Learning from past mistakes will only happen if the short-term political cost of turning policy learning into policy action can be overcome.

中文翻译：

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农业工业发展中长期存在的错误决策：加纳的糖和番茄酱

摘要 从理论上讲，从过去的错误中吸取教训应该导致适应和改进的发展政策。然而，政策学习可能很难实现，学习和政策变化之间的联系既不直接也不直接。在这项研究中，我们通过追踪六十年来对糖生产和番茄加工的兴趣来研究加纳的农业工业政策。具体来说，我们要问为什么 1960 年代初期建立的四家失败的工厂继续在政策和公共话语中发挥核心作用。使用政策文件、学术材料和大众媒体，我们表明加纳对糖生产和番茄加工的政策重点一直存在，尽管工厂构思错误、选址不当、设备简陋且管理不善。确实，在独立初期支持建立这些工厂的政治思想可以在当前的一区一厂政策中看到。我们认为是它们的象征和政治价值，而不是它们的经济价值，使围绕这些工厂的讨论保持活跃。即使关闭，它们也是国家历史承诺的物理体现，​​因此它们保证了政治家的关注，并为下一次重新启动带来希望。不幸的是，只要工厂继续被纳入每一代新的农业产业政策，任何替代方案都很难获得吸引力。该分析突出了错误决策的长期悬而未决，特别是当它们与物理基础设施相关时。