The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana has called on the government to provide a clear implementation plan for agriculture under its proposed US$10 billion New Economy Policy, warning that investment in the sector must address infrastructure gaps, limited processing capacity and barriers to youth participation.
The Association says the success of the initiative will depend on how effectively resources are channelled into critical areas such as irrigation, mechanisation, storage facilities, agro-processing and export development.
Its Executive Director, Bismark Nortey, welcomed the inclusion of agriculture and agribusiness among the nine priority sectors under the policy but stressed the need for specific interventions to tackle longstanding challenges confronting farmers.
The government plans to invest US$10 billion over five years, with an estimated US$2 billion allocated annually to stimulate economic growth and create jobs across the selected sectors.
Mr Nortey argued that agricultural investment must extend beyond increasing food production to building an integrated system that enables farmers to preserve their produce, process surplus output and access profitable domestic and international markets.
He said the absence of adequate storage and processing facilities continued to undermine the potential benefits of agricultural production, making value addition essential to improving farmers’ incomes and reducing post-harvest losses.
“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.
According to him, developing the country’s agro-processing capacity would enable Ghana to transform surplus agricultural produce into exportable products, create additional markets for farmers and retain more value within the domestic economy.
Mr Nortey also identified irrigation and mechanisation as essential components of the proposed investment, arguing that improvements in these areas would raise productivity and reduce farmers’ dependence on rainfall.
“These investments must be able to unlock the agricultural sector, unlock the infrastructural deficits, unlock the marketing aspects, unlock value addition,” he said.
Beyond infrastructure, the Association wants the government to address the structural barriers preventing young people from entering and establishing themselves in agriculture.
Mr Nortey cited limited access to land, mechanisation and digital infrastructure as some of the constraints that make farming less attractive to young people.
He said targeted investment in these areas could help modernise agricultural production, expand employment opportunities and position the sector as a viable source of livelihoods for the country’s growing youth population.
The Association has also called for clarification 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 Feed Ghana programme or provide the broader framework for its implementation, saying clarity on the two initiatives would help farmers and other stakeholders understand the government’s agricultural priorities.
He maintained that aligning agricultural production with processing, infrastructure development and export opportunities would be crucial to ensuring that the planned investment delivers sustainable benefits.
The Association believes that a coordinated approach would strengthen the agricultural value chain, improve farmers’ earnings and enable the sector to contribute more significantly to job creation and Ghana’s economic transformation.
