Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana Calls for 7-year Agriculture Transformation Strategy to Cut Food Imports by 60%
The Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana (CAG) has called for the adoption of a comprehensive Seven-Year National Agriculture and Agro-Industry Development and Transformation Strategy aimed at repositioning agriculture as the primary driver of Ghana’s economic growth, industrialisation and food security.
The proposal forms part of the Chamber’s Independence Day statement issued to mark Ghana’s 69th anniversary under the national theme “Building Prosperity, Restoring Hope.”
According to the Chamber, the strategy should pursue ambitious but achievable targets including reducing Ghana’s food import bill by 60 percent within seven years, cutting post-harvest losses by 80 percent, and reducing food waste across the agricultural value chain by up to 90 percent.
The Chamber further advocates expanding domestic agro-processing capacity to ensure greater value addition to locally produced agricultural commodities.
Agriculture still critical to Ghana’s economy
The Chamber noted that although agriculture once accounted for more than 50 percent of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the early years after independence, the sector still remains a key pillar of the economy.
Today, agriculture employs more than one-third of Ghana’s workforce and continues to sustain rural livelihoods across the country.
However, the Chamber warns that the sector faces structural competitiveness challenges, including increasing dependence on food imports despite the country’s favourable climate conditions and natural resource endowment.
“Ghana continues to experience rising food import dependency, placing pressure on foreign exchange reserves and exposing the country to global commodity price shocks,” the statement noted.
Post-harvest losses remain major challenge
One of the most pressing issues confronting the agricultural sector, according to the Chamber, is high post-harvest losses.
National estimates suggest Ghana loses between 20 percent and 50 percent of agricultural produce due to inadequate storage facilities, weak logistics systems, limited processing infrastructure and poor market linkages.
These losses, the Chamber said, translate into billions of cedis in wasted production annually while reducing farmer incomes and contributing to higher food prices.
Key policy recommendations
To address these challenges, the Chamber is calling for increased public investment in agriculture in line with the Maputo Declaration commitment of allocating at least 10 percent of national budgets to the sector.
Strategic investments, it noted, should prioritise agricultural research, mechanisation services, irrigation infrastructure, digital agriculture platforms and climate-resilient production systems.
The Chamber also stressed the importance of developing large-scale agricultural infrastructure including rural feeder roads, integrated logistics corridors, cold-chain systems, aggregation centres, commodity storage hubs and agro-processing parks.
In addition, it urged the deployment of modern post-harvest technologies such as grain silos, solar-powered cold rooms, mobile processing units and packaging infrastructure to reduce losses and improve export competitiveness.
Need for agro-industrialisation
The Chamber further highlighted the need to accelerate agro-industrialisation through the development of agro-processing clusters and food manufacturing hubs across the country.
Such initiatives, it said, would enable Ghana to transform raw agricultural commodities into high-value finished products for both domestic and international markets.
Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber, Anthony Kofituo Morrison, emphasised that agricultural transformation requires long-term policy continuity beyond political cycles.
“Agricultural transformation is a generational undertaking that requires consistent policy direction over decades,” he stated.
The Chamber reiterated its commitment to working with government, development partners, financial institutions and private sector actors to drive the transformation of Ghana’s agricultural sector.
It added that building a modern, technology-driven agro-industrial economy would help Ghana secure sustainable prosperity while strengthening food security and export competitiveness.
