Ghana’s food import bill is one of the major factors wreaking economic growth and development.
Although Ghana is blessed with abundant agricultural resources, Ghana has struggled with production inefficiencies due to lack of infrastructure, limited access to farm inputs, and weak integration within the agricultural value chain.
To ease the country’s import bill, strengthening the economy, and ensure food security, the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama on April 11, 2025, would launch a programme called FEED GHANA PROGRAMME in Techiman.
The PROGRAMME, according to the Minister, is designed to ease the exacerbating cost of food, thereby alleviating the food crisis in the country.
The Food and Agriculture Minister, Hon. Eric Opoku, mentioned this at a press briefing on April 3, 2025, in the Ministry’s conference room.
“The country’s heavy reliance on food imports, which totals over $2 billion per year, with poultry alone accounting for $300 million, places Ghana at risk of external market fluctuations and currency instability.”
“This dependency exacerbates food inflation, significantly affecting households and aggravating economic hardships for the most vulnerable populations,” the Minister said.
He indicated that the programme would boost agricultural production, feed Ghanaians, alleviate food crises, and create employment thereby easing the import bill.
The goal of the Feed Ghana Programme is to transform Ghana’s agricultural sector. He further said that Ghana’s agricultural sector is grappling with daunting challenges that jeopardize food security, economic stability, and overall national progress.
The smallholder farmers, who represent the backbone of the agricultural workforce, encounter formidable obstacles such as barriers to mechanization, difficulty in securing financing, and the absence of modern farming methods.
These challenges hinder their ability to scale operations and meet the increasing market demands. Additionally, substantial post-harvest losses persist due to insufficient storage and processing facilities, poor transportation networks, and inefficient market connections.
Eric Opoku affirmed that the Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), has launched the Agriculture for Economic Transformation Agenda (AETA).
This initiative aims to drive the growth and modernization of the agricultural sector, with goals to bolster agribusiness development, secure food availability, mitigate food inflation, increase export revenues, and generate sustainable job opportunities.
He indicated that, to effectively realize this vision, MoFA is about to roll out the Feed Ghana Programme (FGP) as its flagship programme, a comprehensive program designed to implement all elements of the AETA.
The Feed Ghana Programme (FGP) is an integrated agricultural acceleration programme to boost agricultural production to feed Ghanaians, provide raw material for agro-industry, and create jobs.
These efforts are intended to ultimately ensure food security, alleviate inflationary pressures on food prices, increase export potential, and support sustained economic growth in the long term.
The Minister stated the goal of the Programme is to transform Ghana’s agricultural sector, reduce import dependency, and boost both domestic production and exports. “We aim to ensure food security and improve nutritional outcomes while creating sustainable employment and empowering our youth and women,” Eric Opoku said.
He highlighted the key initiatives of the programme, stating the advancement of SMART Agriculture, Vegetable Development Project, Support for Institutional Farming, Poultry Industry Revitalization, Livestock Development Initiative, and Feed the Industry Programme.
The Minister thereby called on all Ghanaians to rally behind the Feed Ghana Programme and make it a success.
