Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has called for a shift towards modern commercial agriculture to reduce Ghana’s annual $3.5 billion food import bill. He said the country had the land, water resources and young population needed to produce more of its own food.
Dr Forson argued that the existing approach to farming could not meet the country’s needs.
Dr Forson questioned Ghana’s dependence on imported palm oil, sugar, rice and poultry, citing the example of soybean and maize production as opportunities to support poultry farmers with locally produced feed. He also expressed concern about fish imports and Ghana’s reliance on neighbouring Burkina Faso for vegetables. The minister said hundreds of millions of dollars were spent every year to bring in vegetables.
Beyond food production, Dr Forson said Ghana must retain more value from its cocoa rather than continue exporting beans for processing elsewhere. He cited his experience in Bangkok, where he had seen a range of cocoa-based products. The minister argued that Ghana’s longstanding financing model encouraged buying and shipping beans instead of domestic processing.
Dr Forson said the new Cocoa Board Act already provided for the requirement to process 50% of Ghana’s cocoa locally by 2028 and 100% by 2030. He disclosed that Dangote had expressed interest in using Ghana as a cocoa-processing hub, with discussions involving a proposed contract covering 500,000 metric tonnes of cocoa for local value addition.
The minister’s call for modern commercial agriculture is part of the 2027 Budget presented to Parliament. Dr Forson said the country had the potential to produce more of its own food and reduce its reliance on imports. He argued that this would strengthen domestic production and supply industries that currently rely on imports.