The government has earmarked US$3 billion for commercial agriculture under its four-year New Economy Programme, in a major intervention aimed at reducing food imports, strengthening domestic agro-processing and creating jobs.
The investment forms part of the proposed US$10 billion economic transformation programme covering 2027 to 2030.
Presenting the programme to Parliament, the Finance Minister said agriculture would be central to the government’s strategy to expand domestic production and retain more value from Ghana’s natural resources.
He observed that although agriculture accounted for about 20 per cent of Ghana’s economy, nearly 40 per cent of employment and approximately 25 per cent of export earnings, the country continued to spend billions of dollars importing food and agricultural products that could be produced locally.
He said the dependence on food imports weakened the cedi, exposed the economy to external price shocks and denied local businesses and farming communities opportunities to benefit from domestic demand.
“Every avoidable import is more than a customs entry into our country. It is a farm that was not financed, a factory that remained idle, a transport contract that was never signed, and a job that was created elsewhere,” he told Parliament.
The government intends to direct the agricultural investment towards eight integrated industries, including rice, sugar, poultry, maize, soya and animal feed, aquaculture, oil palm, vegetables and cocoa value addition.
Under the proposed interventions, each industry will have its own commercial plan, financing arrangements, production targets, processing capacity and market framework.
The programme will also establish an integrated farm-to-market system linking agricultural production to irrigation, mechanisation, improved seeds, storage, processing, packaging, transportation and export markets.
The Minister said the government intended to address longstanding weaknesses in the agricultural value chain, arguing that production without storage resulted in losses, while processing facilities without reliable supplies remained underutilised.
Rice production
As part of the intervention, the government plans to establish rice development hubs in the Volta Basin, Western Ghana and Northern Ghana.
The hubs are expected to bring an additional 100,000 hectares of land under rice cultivation, with targeted yields of between five and six metric tonnes per hectare.
The initiative is expected to support approximately 125,000 jobs.
The proposed hubs will be supported with irrigation facilities, mechanisation, silos, modern rice mills, packaging and logistics infrastructure.
The government also intends to introduce targeted tax incentives covering investments in these facilities to reduce production costs and post-harvest losses.
In another measure to strengthen the local rice industry, the Minister announced plans to amend the Public Procurement Laws to require public institutions, including schools and hospitals, to purchase locally grown foodstuffs using public funds.
He said the proposed amendment would provide a dependable market for local farmers while ensuring that public expenditure supported domestic production and employment.
The government believes the interventions will strengthen food security, reduce the country’s food import bill and supply raw materials to local industries.
However, the success of the programme will depend on the timely delivery of irrigation infrastructure, access to affordable financing, reliable markets and effective coordination across the agricultural value chain.
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