Agriculture in Ghana - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Agriculture in Ghana - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Ghana's Agriculture market is projected to reach a CAGR of 4.2% during the forecast period (2022-2027).

COVID-19 has a direct and negative impact on agriculture in the country due to the disrupted distribution channels and shortage of labor. As there is a strict lockdown in Ghana, laborers cannot go to the field and work due to the lack of transportation. There is a delay in the harvesting of crops which results in lower yields than normal, further hindering the growth of the agriculture sector in the country.

Agriculture is one of the important contributors to the country's export earnings and a major source of income for a majority of the population in the country. Rice is one of the major food staples. However, due to the increased domestic consumption, which is exceeding the domestic production, Ghana imports 66% of rice consumed. Hence, the economic cost of depending on imported rice is high and on the rise. Other major cash crops of the country include cocoa, oil, pineapple, tomatoes, and fresh vegetables.

In 2018 and 2019, Ghana's agricultural output grew, driven largely by government policy and expenditure. According to the Ghana Statistical Service, in the third quarter of 2019, agriculture grew 5.5% year-over-year, outpacing the same year's general non-oil GDP growth. Industrialization and productivity improvement programs are expected to increase the output of the agriculture sector, create jobs, and encourage greater participation by the private sector.

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture of Ghana rolled out a broad range of farmer-friendly policies to boost the agricultural sector in the recent years.

Planting for Food and Jobs - The government’s agriculture modernization program is aimed at improving production efficiency, achieving food security and profitability for farmers, and significantly increasing agricultural productivity as the basis for industrialization, job creation, and export. The government increased subsidies on retail prices of seeds, fertilizers, and other agrochemicals, and it is focusing on developing irrigation schemes, facilitating the provision of community owned and managed small-scale irrigation facilities across the country, especially in northern Ghana, through the “One Village, One Dam Policy”, and improving the extension officer to farmer ratio.

The Investing for Food and Jobs (IFJ): An Agenda for Transforming Ghana’s Agriculture (2018-2021) was developed to operationalize the vision of the Government of Ghana, as indicated in the Medium-Term National Development Policy Framework (MTNDPF), which is titled “Agenda for Jobs: Creating Prosperity and Equal Opportunity for All. The thrust of this medium-term plan is to transform the agricultural sector through the government investing at least 10% of the national budget into agriculture, with a corresponding annual sector growth rate of at least 6% within the plan period, as enshrined in the Malabo declaration.

THE FINANCING GHANAIAN AGRICULTURE PROJECT (FINGAP) was initiated by the Ghanaian government, which is an USAID program aimed at improving financing and investment in agribusinesses operating in the maize, soy, and rice value chains in the north of Ghana.

As the country is emerging with a large number of middle-class income families, the number of consumers demanding high-quality fruits and vegetables is increasing in the country. It is estimated that the domestic vegetable market in the country is growing at 10% per year. Tomatoes, onion, and pepper are the most important vegetables in the country. The demand for fresh fruits such as pineapples is very high, with mostly intended for export, traditional domestic markets, supermarkets, and fruit processing. There is also a growing demand for fresh fruits for processing and juice for both local consumption and export. In order to boost the regional fruits trade, many companies such as Blue Skies, HPW Fresh & Dry, Peelco, and Pinora have established their own fruit processing units in the country, which boosts the demand for fruits in the country.

Furthermore, The GhanaVeg program is being implemented by the Centre for Development Innovation (CDI). The program’s mission is to establish a sustainable and internationally competitive vegetable sector. This initiative targets the high-end domestic and international markets, such as high-end supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, and exports. The rise in the initiatives by the program may lead to a surge in the production of vegetables in the country, which is leading the fruits and vegetable segment to be the fastest-growing segment.

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