The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku has led a high-level delegation on a five-day programme to Denmark, seeking to address Ghana’s food production shortfalls in the lens of the Nordic nation’s success story.
The strategic visit, focused on the Danish Food and Agriculture sector, aims to facilitate knowledge sharing and explore business opportunities between the two nations.
The minister highlighted the huge difference between Denmark’s agricultural productivity and Ghana’s current food production challenges when he gave his welcome address stating that Denmark has turned things around in terms of food production.
“The population is around 6 million people but for food production, they are capable of producing food to feed over 15 million people, indicating that they have huge assets that they export across the globe,’ Opoku said emphasizing Denmark’s remarkable agricultural efficiency.
He also candidly acknowledged Ghana’s food production shortfalls, stating: “We have a challenge because we are unable to produce enough local resources to feed our people. We import to supplement local production.”
The five-day programme represents a significant diplomatic and technical engagement, designed to create pathways for Ghana to improve on its agricultural production capacity.
Eric Opoku emphasized the collaborative nature of the initiative, describing it as “an interactive section where we can share ideas and eventually agree on some specific areas of action.’
This visit aligns with the NDC government’s broader agricultural transformation agenda, notably the Feed Ghana Programme which was launched earlier this year.
The programme seeks to revitalize Ghana’s agricultural sector and reduce the country’s dependence on food imports, which currently exceed $2 billion annually. The delegation’s engagement with Denmark’s agricultural experts and institutions is expected to yield specific recommendations and potential partnerships that could grow Ghana’s food production capabilities.
