- Ghana Targets 2.6m Jobs Under New AgriConnect Compact
Ghana has launched the AgriConnect Compact, a national agricultural transformation framework aimed at strengthening food security, creating jobs, reducing food imports and mobilising investment across priority agricultural value chains.
The initiative, launched in Accra on June 3, 2026, is being advanced by the Government of Ghana with support from the World Bank Group and other development partners.
The Compact sets out a coordinated framework for public and private action to raise agricultural productivity, expand value addition, improve access to markets and finance, and build resilience across Ghana’s agri-food system.
It prioritises cocoa, oil palm, rice, maize and poultry, while also supporting other strategic sectors including cashew, coconut, rubber, fisheries and the forest economy.
In its first phase, covering 2026 to 2030, the AgriConnect Compact is expected to improve food and nutrition security for about 2.99 million people and support the creation of more than 2.6 million jobs by 2035.
Financing needs for the first phase are estimated at about US$3.5 billion, with contributions expected from the Government of Ghana, development partners and the private sector.
The initiative comes at a critical moment for Ghana’s economy, where food inflation, import dependence, youth unemployment and weak agricultural value chains have repeatedly exposed the limits of the country’s production system.
For government, the Compact is not only an agricultural programme. It is being positioned as a national economic transformation tool, linking food security to industrialisation, job creation, rural incomes and private investment.
World Bank Group Vice-President for Planet, Guangzhe Chen, described the Compact as a bold step toward building a more productive and resilient food system.
“Ghana’s AgriConnect Compact is a bold step toward building a more productive, resilient, and jobs-rich food system,” he said.
“By linking policy reform with investment and delivery, Ghana is creating the conditions to strengthen food security, support farmers and agribusinesses, and unlock private capital at scale.”
Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, said the initiative is designed to convert Ghana’s agricultural potential into practical outcomes for households, farmers and businesses.
“AgriConnect is about turning Ghana’s agricultural potential into tangible results: more food on the table, more jobs for young people, and more value created here at home,” he said.
“This Compact provides a clear roadmap to modernise agriculture, support farmers, and build stronger value chains that can drive growth nationwide.”
The Compact will focus on irrigation, seed systems, mechanisation, farmer services, agro-processing and logistics. These are areas seen as critical to shifting Ghana’s agriculture from largely rain-fed and fragmented production toward a more commercial, productive and market-led system.
The emphasis on irrigation is particularly important. Ghana’s agriculture remains heavily exposed to seasonal rainfall patterns, leaving farmers vulnerable to climate shocks and limiting year-round production.
Improved seed systems and mechanisation are also expected to raise yields, reduce post-harvest losses and make farming more attractive to young people.
The inclusion of agro-processing and logistics reflects a wider policy ambition to ensure that more food is not only grown in Ghana, but also processed, stored, transported and marketed locally.
Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, said the government remains committed to working with all stakeholders to translate the Compact into results.
“The Government of Ghana remains fully committed to working with all stakeholders to translate the aspirations of this AgriConnect Compact into tangible results for our people,” he said.
“This is Ghana’s moment to feed itself, employ its youth, build competitive industries, and create wealth from its own soil.”
His remarks capture the central promise of the Compact: that agriculture can become a stronger engine of domestic production, employment and wealth creation if policy, finance and implementation are properly aligned.
The initiative also seeks to crowd in private capital, a key requirement if Ghana is to meet the estimated US$3.5 billion financing need for the first phase.
Development partners and government funding alone are unlikely to be enough. The success of the Compact will therefore depend heavily on whether it can attract agribusinesses, financial institutions, institutional investors and farmer organisations into bankable agricultural projects.
The policy framework also comes at a time when African governments are placing renewed emphasis on domestic food production following recent global shocks, including supply-chain disruptions, commodity price volatility and rising import bills.
For Ghana, reducing food imports has become both an economic and strategic priority. Import dependence places pressure on foreign exchange, exposes consumers to external price movements and weakens opportunities for domestic producers.
The AgriConnect Compact therefore seeks to address a long-standing contradiction in Ghana’s economy: a country with significant agricultural potential but persistent food import reliance, low productivity and limited value addition.
AgriConnect is a World Bank Group initiative aimed at transforming farming for 300 million smallholders by 2030. It is supported by partners including the African Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Google and Bayer.
Ghana’s version of the Compact will serve as a multi-year national framework for strengthening food security, creating jobs, boosting value addition and mobilising financing across priority agricultural value chains.
But the real test will be delivery.
Ghana has had several agricultural transformation strategies in the past, many of them ambitious on paper but limited by weak implementation, inadequate financing, poor coordination and policy inconsistency.
The AgriConnect Compact will be judged by whether it can move beyond launch speeches and translate into functioning irrigation systems, accessible farmer services, reliable input supply, stronger processing capacity, better market access and measurable improvements in farmer incomes.
If implemented with discipline, the Compact could help reposition agriculture as a driver of inclusive growth, industrialisation and long-term resilience.
If not, it risks becoming another well-written strategy in a sector that has heard many promises but still waits for transformation at scale.
