Nov 5, 2026
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has inspected ongoing construction works on the Farmers Service Centre at Takoratwene in the Afram Plains area of the Eastern Region.
It is part of efforts to ensure the timely delivery of quality agricultural infrastructure under the government’s Feed Ghana Programme.
The inspection provided an opportunity for the Minister to assess the progress of work, examine the quality of construction and engage with the project team on measures to ensure that the facility meets the required standards and serves its intended purpose.
The Farmers Service Centre initiative forms part of the government’s broader strategy to modernise Ghana’s agricultural sector by improving farmers’ access to essential mechanisation services, agricultural equipment and other production support services.
Through the centres, farmers are expected to have improved access to tractors, harvesters, agricultural implements and other mechanised services to reduce the burden of manual labour, improve productivity and make farming more attractive, particularly to the youth.
Speaking during the inspection, Eric Opoku emphasised the importance of delivering infrastructure that meets the highest standards of quality, noting that the government’s vision of transforming agriculture must be reflected in practical interventions that directly benefit farmers.
He stressed that the construction of the centres must not be treated merely as an infrastructure project but as a strategic investment in the future of Ghanaian agriculture.
The Takoratwene facility is particularly significant to farmers in the Afram Plains, an area with considerable agricultural potential and a strong contribution to the country’s food production.
When completed and operational, the centre is expected to strengthen agricultural mechanisation in the area, improve access to farm services, reduce production costs and support increased food production.
The government’s commitment to establishing Farmers Service Centres across the country is aimed at addressing some of the longstanding challenges confronting farmers, particularly limited access to modern machinery and the high cost of mechanised farming services.
The inspection forms part of Eric Opoku’s broader commitment to monitoring projects under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to ensure that government investments translate into tangible benefits for farmers.
The Feed Ghana Programme, together with the Agriculture for Economic Transformation Agenda (AETA), remains central to the government’s efforts to build a modern, productive and commercially viable agricultural sector, strengthen food security, create employment and reduce the country’s dependence on food imports.
The government maintains that transforming Ghana’s agricultural sector requires more than policy declarations; it demands practical investments, effective implementation and a firm commitment to quality delivery.
Source:https://3news.com/news
Nov 4, 2026
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with DMT Collateral Management Limited for the construction of a 21,000-tonne grain storage facility in Wa in the Upper West Region.
The agreement, signed on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, at the Ministry in Accra, forms part of efforts under the government’s Feed Ghana Programme to expand the country’s grain storage capacity, minimise post-harvest losses and strengthen national food security.
The facility is expected to serve as a Food Security Hub, providing strategic grain reserves to support the country during periods of food shortages and other emergencies.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, commended DMT Collateral Management Limited and the Danish Embassy for their role in facilitating the project.
He reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to supporting the successful implementation of the facility.
The Chief Executive Officer of DMT Collateral Management Limited, Paul Sannie Minlah, said the project would incorporate an emergency grain reserve system known as the Hospital Bin, designed to ensure the availability of food stocks during periods of national need.
The project will be supported by an export credit of approximately €4.8 million facilitated by the Danish Embassy, alongside an additional investment of about €5 million.
Beyond improving grain storage, the facility is also expected to create training opportunities for National Service personnel, members of the Feed Ghana Brigades and Ghanaian technicians.
The training will focus on silo operations, grain handling and maintenance to build local technical capacity and support the efficient management of the facility.
The project is expected to be completed and commissioned by August 2027.
Source:https://www.myjoyonline.com
Nov 3, 2026
The University of Cape Coast (UCC) has inaugurated the Africa Centre for Food Integrity (AFIC) to address food safety and quality challenges in Ghana and Africa.
The centre seeks to research and develop mobile digital technologies enabled by artificial intelligence (AI) to assess the quality of food in real time to strengthen food quality assurance and protect food systems against deliberate contamination and food fraud.
Established by the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences (CANS), the hub will collaborate with key stakeholders, including the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), the Ghana Standards Authority, farmers and other universities, to protect public health, safeguard livelihoods and strengthen trust in food trade.
Food fraud is the deliberate adulteration or misrepresentation of food, often for financial gain, potentially endangering public health.
In Ghana, for instance, some food fraud activities include adulterating palm oil with Sudan IV dye, mixing ginger powder with sawdust, combining cola nuts with powdered pepper, and adding flour to groundnut paste while presenting the products as pure or organic.
In this regard, the AFIC is already developing AI-powered technologies that would mimic the five human sense organs, namely ear, nose, tongue, eye and skin to authenticate food safety and quality.
Reverend Professor Ernest Teye, Agri-Food Integrity expert and Centre Lead, explained that the centre was conceived some nine years ago in response to concerns about endemic food contamination, adulteration and food fraud in parts of Africa.
He said the canker was difficult to fight, especially with the cumbersome and time-consuming conventional food-testing methods, prompting the development of more advanced technologies.
With the introduction of a mobile-enabled spectroscopic device, for instance, the centre is now able to assess the safety and quality of palm oil within seconds instead of days or weeks.
Prof Teye announced that the centre had developed a cocoa passport system to trace cocoa beans to their place of production and was also preparing to introduce Spice Check, a technology to authenticate spices consumed in Ghana.
Beyond technology development, he indicated that the centre would also educate consumers about food fraud, particularly the importance of checking food labels and verifying product safety.
He said the AFIC’s goal was to ensure that food consumed by the public was safe, authentic and sustainable, thereby protecting public health and supporting sustainable development.
“All the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will go nowhere if we cannot have a sustainable food system because food is the foundation of every SDG and so we must look at food first,” he stressed.
Prof Rofela Combey, Provost of CANS, assured that AFIC would work with farmers, scientists, industry players, educators, policymakers and regulators to ensure food produced, sold and consumed in Ghana and across Africa was safe.
She, therefore, called for collective responsibility in promoting food safety and protecting the quality of food for present and future generations.
Prof Chris Elliott, a food safety expert with Queen’s University Belfast, UK, emphasised the need for Africa to urgently address food safety risks, food fraud and trade barriers to unlock its vast agricultural potential and increase its share of global food exports.
Despite holding about 60 per cent of the world’s uncultivated arable land, he observed that Africa accounted for less than four per cent of global food exports.
According to him, projections suggested that the continent’s food exports could rise to 25 per cent with continued agricultural expansion and modernisation as well as increased investment and improved infrastructure.
However, contaminated products, counterfeit and expired foods, poor sanitary conditions, high post-harvest losses, regulatory bottlenecks and slow customs procedures remained major trade barriers.
“Food security is no longer simply an agricultural challenge for Africa. It is a strategic imperative that demands sustained investment in science, technology, trusted global partnerships and resilient supply systems to safeguard future prosperity and stability,” the speaker said.
Professor Christine Adu-Yeboah, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), said AFIC would become a continental hub where governments, regulators, industry players and researchers could access knowledge, expertise and technology to protect food integrity.
“Food integrity is ultimately about trust; trust that what is labelled is what is contained, and when we have labels whose language we cannot read and understand, then it becomes problematic.
“We also need to trust what is sold. We should trust that what is sold is safe. We should trust that farmers and legitimate businesses are not disadvantaged by fraud,” she said.
“We must trust that our regulatory systems can protect consumers, and we must trust that science and innovations can help us build food systems, together”, she added.
Mr Roey Gilad, Ambassador of the State of Israel to Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, commended UCC for the Centre, highlighting the importance of food integrity.
He pledged Israel’s support for the project through capacity-building initiatives by MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, and partnerships with Israeli universities.
Source:https://www.myjoyonline.com/
Nov 3, 2026
About 60,000 young women aged 18-35 are expected to benefit from jobs and business opportunities under a four-year aquaculture programme aimed at expanding Ghana’s tilapia and catfish production.Ghana Business News
The Sustainable Aquaculture for Women Advancement (SAWA) programme, led by Agri-Impact Ltd in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, seeks to create jobs across the aquaculture value chain while increasing local fish production.
The initiative brings together public and private sector partners, including Newage Agric Solutions, AgroKings, the Fisheries Commission, TechnoServe, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Centre Enterprise Learning (CEL), TechnoServe, Naple Betta, Afrigem Global and Aglow Farms.
Speaking at the programme’s signing ceremony in Accra on November 2, 2026, Chief Executive Officer of Agri-Impact Ltd, Dr (h.c) Daniel Fahene Acquaye, said private sector involvement would be critical to providing participants with the infrastructure, technical expertise and market access needed to build sustainable businesses.
“This programme is centred on the young people. But you cannot support young people without having an anchor private sector that is sitting at the centre,” he said.
Dr Acquaye said some of the participants would be supported to establish businesses across the aquaculture value chain, including tilapia and catfish production, aggregation, processing, marketing and distribution.
A key partner, Newage Agric Solutions, is targeting a reduction of about 20 percent in fish feed costs by supporting local production of raw materials such as maize and soya beans.
Its Managing Partner, Roland Quaye, said feed accounts for between 60 and 70 per cent of aquaculture production costs, making affordability crucial to farmers’ profitability.
“Just by coming on board, you can be rest assured that we are going to reduce the feed cost of all aquaculture farmers by close to about 20 percent,” he said.
Abigail Obeng, a participant of the SAWA programme and Chief Executive Officer of Aquatic Clean Solutions, also welcomed the initiative, saying it would create opportunities for more women to establish businesses and achieve financial independence.
She said about 90 per cent of her workforce were women and expressed hope that the programme would encourage more unemployed graduates and school dropouts to venture into aquaculture.
“Enjoying our own money is sweet. We want young women to also have our own money to enjoy in life,” she said.
The programme is expected to boost domestic fish production, reduce reliance on imports and create sustainable livelihood opportunities, particularly for young women.
Sourcehttps://www.citinewsroom.com
Nov 3, 2026
NASTAG president Seidu Mubarak Abdullah said an immediate ban on cereal imports could be difficult to implement, but a structured reduction in import volumes would help create a more sustainable market for locally produced grains.
He said persistent difficulties in selling farm produce are weakening farmers’ capacity to recover their investments, repay loans and purchase improved seeds for subsequent planting seasons, threatening the country’s seed industry and broader agricultural value chain’s
viability. “We know it will be difficult to have a one-stop ban of cereals, but we are urging government to bring in a strategy or plan that will continuously reduce the numbers we are importing,” he said.
He said this at SEEDLINK 2026 – the 7th Ghana Seed Business Forum which marked the National Seed Trade Association of Ghana’s 10th anniversary. Mr. Abdullah argued that continued cereal imports, alongside difficulties in disposing of locally produced grains, are undermining domestic production and discouraging investment in improved seeds. He warned that unless market access improves, farmers could reduce production while seed companies would face declining demand and mounting financial losses.
Mr. Abdullah argued that continued cereal imports, alongside difficulties in disposing of locally produced grains, are undermining domestic production and discouraging investment in improved seeds. He warned that unless market access improves, farmers could reduce production while seed companies would face declining demand and mounting financial losses.
He cited the case of a seed company that disposed of seeds worth more than GHC 7 million for less than GHc1million, resulting in losses exceeding GHc 6 Million.
The situation, he said is also affecting agricultural financing as farmers who cannot sell their produce struggle to service loans. He pointed of Bank of Ghana data indicating significant non-performing loans in the agriculture sector, underscoring the financial risks associated with weak market access.
Some agribusinesses, he added, have been forced to downsize or close – with implications for employment, investment and sustainability of the domestic agricultural value chain.
Import dependence
Mr. Abdullah warned that continued reliance on imported food commodities exposes the country to supply disruptions and threatens national food security. “We cannot continue to depend on imports. We cannot continue relying on other countries. What if tomorrow we are not able to get the imports from these other countries?” he asked.
He said strengthening domestic production requires more than reducing imports, calling for interventions that enable farmers to access markets, recover production costs and reinvest in farming.
He also called for lifting restrictions on soybean exports, arguing that policies should support agricultural value chains and improve commercial opportunities for local producers.
National Seed Council
Similarly, chairman of the National Seed Council Alhaji Abubakari Mumuni has called for stronger support to locally produced seeds, stressing that access to quality planting materials at affordable prices is critical for agricultural productivity and food security.
Mr. Mumuni, who is also Managing Director-PBC Shea Ltd., described a strong seed industry as a national economic priority underpinning farmer productivity, agribusiness investment and job creation.
“We can invest in land, irrigation, machinery and processing facilities, but without access to quality seed at the right time and at an affordable price, our ambitions for agricultural transformation will remain stagnant,” he said
He also raised concerns about the importation of planting materials whose sources cannot be verified, emphasising the need to strengthen domestic seed production and ensure that farmers receive quality seeds
He said government, through the Feed Ghana Programme, continues to procure and supply quality seeds to farmers – underscoring the importance of locally produced varieties.
The chairman further called for compliance with seed production and distribution regulations, warning against the sale of seeds as certified varieties without the required quality assurance. He said the National Seed Council is engaging national security agencies to address the sale of seeds with questionable quality and untraceable planting materials.
Input support, policy reforms
The NASTAG president advocated reintroduction of universal subsidies for fertiliser and seeds to reduce production costs and improve farmers’ access to essential inputs.
He further urged stronger collaboration among government, seed companies, farmers and other industry stakeholders under the Feed Ghana programme to address constraints across the agricultural value chain.
Beyond market access and input costs, Mr. Abdullah called for a review of the National Seed Policy – last reviewed in 2018 – and the Plants and Fertiliser Act, 2010 (Act 803) to reflect developments in biotechnology, climate change and agricultural technology.
He said an updated policy and regulatory framework will help the seed industry respond to emerging production challenges and support improvements in agricultural productivity.
These concerns come as NASTAG marks its 10th anniversary alongside the seventh annual Seed Link Forum, organised in collaboration with the National Seed Council and Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
The forum seeks to identify interventions, promote policy advocacy and strengthen the country’s seed system.
The proposed phased reduction of rice and maize imports – together with improved market access, input support and regulatory reforms – forms part of a broader call to make domestic agriculture more competitive and resilient.
Source:https://thebftonline.com/
