Inadequate Government Funding Undermining Agriculture Development at District Level, CAG Says
Ghana’s decentralisation framework is failing to deliver meaningful agricultural development at the local level due to persistent underfunding, the Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana (CAG) has warned, despite agriculture being legally recognised as a decentralised function of local government.
In a media statement dated January 19, 2026, Senior Policy Advisor at CAG, Festus Kwame Kwadzokpo, said the contradiction between policy intent and fiscal reality has left district agriculture departments “orphaned institutions”, mandated to drive local economic development without the resources required to do so.
“Agriculture is the fulcrum of local economic development in most districts, yet it remains paradoxically neglected within the decentralised system,” the statement noted.
Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, under Article 240, mandates the transfer of functions, responsibilities, and resources from central government to local authorities, while Article 36(2)(e) obliges the State to promote agriculture as part of balanced national development.
These provisions are operationalised under the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936), which places agricultural service delivery under Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
However, CAG argues that decentralisation in agriculture exists largely “in law but not in practice”.
According to the statement, the absence of a protected allocation for agriculture under the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) is a major structural weakness. While the DACF remains the most significant discretionary funding source for MMDAs, agriculture has no statutory fiscal space within the framework.
“This omission has far-reaching consequences,” Mr Kwadzokpo said, explaining that district chief executives, confronted with competing demands such as roads, classrooms, sanitation, and administrative costs, often deprioritise agriculture.
As a result, district agriculture departments lack basic logistics including vehicles and motorbikes for extension services, funding for farmer training, and resources to support agribusiness and value chain development. Extension officers are frequently unable to reach farming communities consistently, undermining productivity and innovation, particularly in rural areas.
CAG cautioned that weak decentralised agriculture has national implications, threatening the effectiveness of flagship programmes such as the Feed Ghana Programme, 24-Hour Economy, Land Banks, Nkukor Nkitinkiti, farmer service centres, and mechanisation initiatives.
“When district agricultural services are weak, national policies struggle to achieve their intended impact,” the statement said, adding that food security, youth employment, agribusiness growth, and rural transformation are all at risk.
To address the challenge, CAG is calling for urgent policy reforms, including the introduction of a statutory minimum allocation of the DACF to agriculture, ringfenced specifically for agricultural and agribusiness development at the MMDA level.
“Even a modest, protected percentage of the DACF would significantly transform extension delivery, mechanisation services, post-harvest management, and value chain development,” Mr Kwadzokpo stated.
The chamber is also urging stronger accountability mechanisms, with clear agricultural budget lines in district composite budgets and the inclusion of agricultural performance indicators in the assessment of MMDAs and district chief executives.
In a more ambitious proposal, CAG called for the establishment of a Ghana Agriculture and Agribusiness Service (GAAS) under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, similar to the Ghana Education Service and Ghana Health Service, to provide a dedicated institutional framework for decentralised agricultural service delivery with predictable funding and logistics.
“Agriculture is the foundation of most local economies. Ghana’s decentralisation agenda cannot succeed if it remains underfunded,” the statement concluded, stressing that resourcing agriculture at the district level is a strategic national investment rather than a sectoral choice.
