Ghana Agribusiness Transformation Program
Agriculture forms a major sector of Ghana’s economy. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, about 136,000 km2 of land, or 57 % of the country’s total land area of 238,532km2, is deemed to be agricultural land. However, only 58,000 km2 (24.4 %) is under cultivation and only 11,000 hectares is under irrigation. Small and medium-sized farms of up to 10 hectares comprise the vast majority of cultivated land.
Ghana’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture has launched the Feed Ghana Programme as a key initiative under the broader Agriculture for Economic Transformation Agenda (AETA) to revitalize the agribusiness sector and address food security.
Key Objectives of the Feed Ghana Programme:
- Boost agricultural production: The program aims to increase the production of key commodities like grains, legumes, vegetables, and livestock, to feed the population.
- Promote commercial-scale farming to supply raw materials to support the expansion of agro-processing factories in Ghana.
- Reduce Ghana’s dependence on food imports and creating employment opportunities.
- Modernize agriculture with the adoption of modern farming practices, including mechanization, improved seeds, and better access to inputs.
- Enhance food security and stabilize local food prices.
Key Interventions under the Feed Ghana Programme include:
- Establish more than 50 Farmer Service Centers that could provide extension services, and distribute seeds, plants, and equipment to farmers.
- Develop subsectors such as grains and legumes, vegetables, poultry, and livestock to increase production for consumption, processing, and export. Different senior Ghanaian officials have identified a range of specific commodities for increased development from maize, rice and cocoa to oil palm, and poultry.
- Implement targeted interventions to promote smart farming practices across the country.
- Support urban and peri-urban cultivation, including home gardens.
- Develop agro-processing zones equipped with necessary infrastructure to attract private investment.
- Partner with banks to deliver financial products to farmers such as savings accounts, insurance, and mobile money platforms.
- Address longstanding impediments to finance.
The Feed Program is supported by efforts by the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry to secure litigation-free land. Opaque land ownership structures have been a key impediment to securing finance for agribusiness investments in the past
Supporting cooperatives to negotiate prices and long-term contracts with government agencies, hospitals, export markets, and other institutional buyers.
Commercial Opportunities:
- Providing equipment for controlled environment farming and greenhouse cultivation as well as supplies for home gardening.
- Supplying, installing and servicing modern irrigation systems.
- Training & Capacity Building: Equipping farmers with modern farm management, agribusiness, and digital agriculture skills.
- Help farmers to implement smart farming techniques and introduce improved seeds and crop varieties.
Supplying storage and processing facilities to help with post-harvest losses.
For more information, please contact Commercial Service Ghana at Office.Accra@trade.gov or +233(0)30-274-1870.