…Calls for Value Addition, Processing and Export Development
By Prince Ahenkorah
The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana has urged the government to prioritise agriculture and agribusiness under its proposed US$10 billion New Economy Policy, calling for increased investment in food processing, export development and agricultural infrastructure.
The Association says targeted investments in the sector are necessary to address longstanding structural challenges, improve productivity, reduce post-harvest losses and create sustainable economic opportunities for farmers.
Its Executive Director, Bismark Nortey, welcomed the inclusion of agriculture and agribusiness among the nine key sectors earmarked for investment but called on the government to provide details of the specific interventions planned for the sector.
The proposed policy seeks to invest US2 billion allocated annually to accelerate job creation and economic growth.
Reacting to the proposal, Mr Nortey stressed that agriculture must occupy a central position in the government’s economic transformation agenda.
“Any economic policy that does not have agriculture and agribusiness at the heart of it is a non-starter and it’s bound to fail,” he said.
He argued that investment in agriculture must extend beyond increasing food production to include effective systems for storing, processing and marketing agricultural produce.
According to him, processing surplus food for export would help reduce post-harvest losses, expand market opportunities for farmers and increase the value Ghana derives from its agricultural output.
Mr Nortey also called for increased investment in irrigation, mechanisation and agricultural marketing systems to improve productivity and reduce farmers’ dependence on rain-fed agriculture.
“These investments must be able to unlock the agricultural sector, unlock the infrastructural deficits, unlock the marketing aspects, unlock value addition,” he said.
He further urged the government to address challenges discouraging young people from entering agriculture, including limited access to land, mechanisation and digital infrastructure.
He said removing these barriers would make farming more attractive to the youth while strengthening the sector’s contribution to employment creation and national economic growth.
The Association is also seeking clarity on the relationship between the proposed New Economy Policy and the government’s existing Feed Ghana programme.
Mr Nortey questioned whether the new policy would complement the programme or provide the broader framework for its implementation.
He said a clear outline of the planned interventions would enable farmers and other stakeholders to understand how the government intends to address the sector’s challenges and ensure that the proposed investment delivers tangible benefits.
The Association maintains that aligning agricultural production with processing, value addition and export development will be crucial to maximising the impact of the proposed US$10 billion investment on farmers and the wider economy.