The Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana (CAG) is urging the government to adopt a bold seven-year national strategy to transform the country’s agricultural sector and significantly reduce dependence on food imports.
In a statement released to commemorate Ghana’s 69th Independence Day under the theme “Building Prosperity, Restoring Hope,” the Chamber proposed the development of a Seven-Year National Agriculture and Agro-Industry Development and Transformation Strategy aimed at positioning agriculture as the main driver of economic growth, industrialisation and food security.
According to the Chamber, the proposed strategy should set clear and measurable targets, including reducing Ghana’s food import bill by 60 percent within seven years, cutting post-harvest losses by up to 80 percent, and lowering food waste across the agricultural value chain by as much as 90 percent.
The group also stressed the need to expand domestic agro-processing capacity to ensure that more locally produced agricultural commodities are processed within the country, creating jobs and increasing value addition.
Agriculture remains a key pillar
Although agriculture’s share of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has declined from more than 50 percent in the years immediately after independence, the sector remains a cornerstone of the national economy.
Today, agriculture employs over one-third of Ghana’s workforce and continues to support millions of rural households across the country.
However, the Chamber warned that the sector faces growing structural challenges, including increasing dependence on imported food products despite Ghana’s favourable climate and natural resources.
“Ghana continues to experience rising food import dependency, placing pressure on foreign exchange reserves and exposing the country to global commodity price shocks,” the statement noted.
Post-harvest losses still high
The Chamber identified post-harvest losses as one of the most critical problems affecting the agricultural sector.
Current national estimates indicate that between 20 percent and 50 percent of agricultural produce is lost due to inadequate storage facilities, weak transport systems, limited processing infrastructure and poor market linkages.
These losses, the Chamber said, translate into billions of cedis in wasted produce every year, reducing farmers’ incomes while contributing to higher food prices for consumers.
Call for increased investment
To address these challenges, the Chamber is calling on government to increase public investment in agriculture in line with the Maputo Declaration, which commits African countries to allocate at least 10 percent of national budgets to the sector.
Priority areas for investment, it said, should include agricultural research, mechanisation services, irrigation systems, digital agriculture technologies and climate-resilient farming methods.
The Chamber also advocated the development of large-scale agricultural infrastructure such as rural feeder roads, integrated logistics corridors, cold-chain systems, commodity storage hubs, aggregation centres and agro-processing parks.
In addition, it recommended the adoption of modern post-harvest technologies including grain silos, solar-powered cold rooms, mobile processing units and improved packaging systems to reduce waste and strengthen export competitiveness.
Push for agro-industrialisation
The Chamber further emphasised the need to accelerate agro-industrialisation through the creation of agro-processing clusters and food manufacturing hubs across the country.
Such initiatives would allow Ghana to convert raw agricultural products into higher-value finished goods for both domestic consumption and export markets.
Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber, Anthony Kofituo Morrison, said transforming agriculture requires long-term policy consistency beyond political cycles.
“Agricultural transformation is a generational undertaking that requires consistent policy direction over decades,” he said.
The Chamber reaffirmed its readiness to work with government, development partners, financial institutions and private sector players to drive the transformation of Ghana’s agricultural sector and build a modern, technology-driven agro-industrial economy.
source: norvanreport
