Ghana’s efforts to reposition agribusiness as a catalyst for industrial growth have reached a decisive stage as the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, in partnership with AGRA and Agri-Impact, concluded its final regional consultation in Ho on Friday, December 12, 2025.
The engagement forms part of a nationwide process to develop the National Agribusiness and Agro-Processing Policy, which is now set for national validation in the coming days.
At the final dialogue session, AGRA’s Country Director, Dr. Betty Annan, expressed the organization’s pride in supporting a national reform agenda aimed at strengthening Ghana’s agribusiness competitiveness and resilience.
Ahead of the national validation meeting, the Volta and Oti regions held a joint stakeholder consultation at Ho in the Volta Region.
Delivering remarks on behalf of the Volta Regional Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Avorna emphasized that agribusiness remains central to Ghana’s transformation agenda.
He noted that although the Volta Region is endowed with rich agricultural diversity ranging from rice, cassava, maize, yam, vegetables, aquaculture, fisheries, and fruits its full potential remains constrained by post-harvest losses, inadequate processing capacity, limited finance, and weak infrastructure.
He described the consultation as “an opportunity to reshape the future of agribusiness in the Volta and Oti Regions.”
Alhaji Avorna outlined regional priorities including the expansion of agro-processing zones, improved irrigation systems, enhanced feeder road networks, climate-smart technologies, tailored financial products, structured markets, cold-chain systems, and inclusive youth and women interventions.
He stressed that the success of the national policy would rely heavily on strong collaboration among government, the private sector, academia, farmers, and development partners.
Government Reaffirms Commitment to Agribusiness-Led Industrialization
The Director of Agribusiness at the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Mr. Kwame Oppong Ntim, reaffirmed government’s commitment to integrating agribusiness into Ghana’s broader industrial agenda.
He explained that the restructuring of the Ministry to include Agribusiness reflects a deliberate shift toward value addition and strengthening raw material supply chains.
Referencing a global agribusiness market projected to reach US$5.8 trillion by 2033, he emphasized that Ghana must invest in innovation, contract farming, climate-smart production and value-added processing to remain competitive.
He highlighted that many Ghanaian industries continue to operate below 40% capacity due to unreliable raw material supply.
To address these constraints, he outlined flagship government programmes including the Feed the Industry Programme, Rapid Industrialization Programme, and Accelerated Export Development Programme.
These initiatives aim to strengthen structured supply chains, enhance farmer processor linkages, and expand processing infrastructure nationwide.
Mr. Oppong Ntim added that taxes on agro-processing machinery would be waived in the short term to encourage investment, while government through institutions such as GRATIS will scale up local machinery manufacturing in the medium to long term.
With regional engagements successfully completed, preparations are underway for the National Validation Meeting, where stakeholders will review, refine and finalize the draft National Agribusiness and Agro-Processing Policy for Cabinet submission.
According to Mr. Oppong Ntim, the session will consolidate expert inputs gathered over months of nationwide consultations. The meeting will focus on identifying policy gaps, proposing practical reforms, and confirming mechanisms for effective implementation and coordination across sectors.