Domestic Boom Powered by Farms and Services, Ato Forson Reveals
By Nelson Ayivor
In a stunning comeback that’s got economists cheering, Ghana’s economy surged 6.3% in the first half of 2025, turbocharged by homegrown production in agriculture and services, Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson announced with fireworks in Parliament.
Unveiling the 2026 Budget under the electrifying theme “Resetting for Growth, Jobs, and Economic Transformation,” Forson credited the leap up from a sluggish 5.1% in 2024’s same period to macro magic like tamed inflation, rock-steady cedi, and roaring business confidence.
“This growth was broad-based and driven mainly by the services and agriculture sectors,” he boomed, spotlighting how the real economy think farms, factories, builds, and mines rebuilt with “resilience and confidence.”
Non-oil GDP? Exploded 7.8%, proving the government’s masterstroke shift from raw exports to a powerhouse of local hustle and diversified muscle.
Agriculture stole the show, ballooning over 100% year-on-year, with every sub-sector blasting past 5% gains. Crops jumped 6.2%, livestock 5.8%, and fishing a whopping 7.7% a sector that’s Ghana’s lifeblood, long chained by small-scale struggles but now unleashed.
Cocoa, the golden bean, flipped from a brutal 21.4% nosedive last year to a sweet 2.8% rebound, thanks to government’s blitz of free fertilizers, pest patrols, and farmer lifelines.
“This recovery was made possible by improved pest control, timely fertilizer distribution, and sustained investment,” Forson declared, nodding to game-changers like the Feed Ghana Initiative and ‘Nkuko Nkitikiti’ program. It’s clear: amp up these efforts, swap imports for homegrown bounty, and watch jobs flood in time to rally every Ghanaian to the fields!
But wait, the services sector didn’t sit idle – it revved up 8.8% from 2024’s measly 3.2%, emerging as the undisputed growth beast in tech, finance, and education. Sub-sectors lit up: information and communication soared 17.2%, financial services 9.5%, education 14.9%, and transport/storage 6.7%. “The modern economy is taking shape, one built on productivity, knowledge, and opportunity,” Forson enthused, painting a future where brains and innovation eclipse quick-fix spending.
From this half-year snapshot, Ghana’s trajectory screams promise: productive powerhouses like agriculture will forge jobs, swell the economy, and cement the reset. With government’s full-throttle backing, 2026 could be the year the nation truly takes off resilient, inclusive, and unstoppable.