Ghana to invest US$3 Billion in commercial agriculture to boost food security

The Minister of Finance of Ghana, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, announced a US$3 billion investment in commercial agriculture as part of the New Economy Programme.

The minister presented the 2027 Budget, stating that the initiative aims to drive industrial growth, create jobs, and improve food security. A major part of this plan involves building the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam, a project costing $1 billion.

This dam will provide water for 25,000 hectares of farmland, house 1,000 fish cages, and generate 70 MW of hydropower. The government plans to establish Rice Development Hubs in several regions including Afram Plains and Northern Ghana. These hubs will provide irrigation, mechanization, and storage to bring 100,000 hectares under rice cultivation. To support this, the government will change procurement laws so that public institutions buy only locally grown rice and staple foods.

The state also intends to reach self-sufficiency in sugar production by 2030 by establishing local mills and using import quotas to limit foreign sugar. Other agricultural goals include developing a full poultry value chain and expanding oil palm plantations across five regions. The government seeks to address a 500,000 metric tonne annual fish supply gap by focusing on aquaculture.

For the cocoa industry, the ministry plans to process at least 50 percent of the country's cocoa locally by 2028 and reach 100 percent local processing by 2030 to end the export of raw cocoa.