Oct 12, 2026
The government’s Nkoko Nketenkete programme has helped increase Ghana’s domestic poultry production from 4.6% to 22% as of May 2026, Minister for Food and Agriculture Eric Opoku has said.
Speaking during an inspection of a poultry, meat and feed processing factory at Bechem in the Ahafo Region by President Mahama, Mr Opoku said the increase has been recorded after the first year of implementing the programme.
“Your Excellency, after one year of the implementation of the programme, Ghana’s domestic poultry production has increased from 4.6%, as we inherited, to 22% as of May 2026. Twenty-two per cent. This has never happened in the history of our country,” he said.
Mr Opoku said the programme has also contributed to a sustained surplus of eggs in the local market for almost a year, prompting the government to explore additional markets for producers.
He explained that President John Mahama had directed him and the Minister for Trade to engage Burkina Faso on the export of Ghanaian eggs.
According to the minister, the delegation encountered more than 20 trucks loaded with eggs at the border during the negotiations. He said clearance was subsequently granted for the trucks to enter Burkina Faso, paving the way for Ghanaian egg exports.
However, he said exports alone would not be sufficient to absorb the excess supply.
The government is therefore working with the Ministry of Education to implement the President’s directive to include eggs in meals served under the School Feeding Programme.
Mr Opoku cited the widespread sale of eggs on the streets as evidence of the increased supply.
“The evidence is seen on our streets. Everywhere you go in this country today, eggs are being sold two for five cedis. And even that, the sellers add pepper and onion free of charge,” he said.
He added that the processing factory and its accompanying feed mill would support efforts to sustain the programme and strengthen the domestic poultry value chain.
Mr Opoku said the feed mill would also use eggshells in feed preparation, providing an additional use for the by-product.
Oct 9, 2026
The Volta Youth in Agriculture has congratulated the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Mr Eric Opoku, on his dedicated leadership and efforts to advance agricultural production.
The youth group, however, appealed for markets for young cassava farmers in the region.
Madam Joy Fiamawle, the Public Relations Officer of the group, in an interview, commended the Minister for his commitment to make agriculture more productive, resilient and attractive to the youth in general.
“The Minister’s emphasis on increasing food production, supporting farmers, promoting agricultural value chains and building the capacity of young people to take part meaningfully in the sector is an important step towards a stronger and more sustainable agricultural economy,” she said.
Madam Fiamawle described agriculture as more than an economic activity, and called it a powerful vehicle for job creation, youth empowerment, food security, poverty reduction and national development.
She explained that the group appreciated initiatives and policies that placed farmers and young agricultural entrepreneurs at the centre of Ghana’s development agenda.
She said: As a group, we also welcome the Minister’s efforts to improve access to agricultural inputs, irrigation, mechanisation, markets, technology, and other resources needed to raise productivity.
“We believe that, with the right support, young people can become the next generation of commercial farmers, agribusiness owners, processors, exporters and agricultural innovators.”
She encouraged the Ministry to keep prioritising youth-led agriculture, particularly in regions such as the Volta, which the group said has significant potential for crop production, livestock, aquaculture, agro-processing, and agribusiness.
According to the group, a deliberate national programme that gives young farmers access to land, affordable financing, irrigation, improved seeds, mechanisation, extension services, storage and processing facilities, and guaranteed markets would significantly accelerate the transformation of the sector.
The group further suggested that stronger links between farmers and institutional buyers, including schools, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, and food processors, could create sustainable markets for locally produced commodities.
The group raised a specific concern about young cassava producers, adding that “many are becoming discouraged because they cannot find buyers for what they grow. We demand initiatives to secure markets for them.”
The Volta Youth in Agriculture assured the Minister of its willingness to work with the government and other stakeholders to promote agriculture among the youth, and pledged to continue to champion the message that agriculture is a business, a source of employment, and a pathway to prosperity.
The group said it was confident that with sustained leadership, collaboration and investment, the country could reduce its dependence on imported food, increase domestic production and build a competitive agricultural sector that could feed the nation and create wealth.
They said that the future of agriculture in the country would be brighter and that the youth must be at its heart.
Source:https://www.myjoyonline.com
Oct 9, 2026
The government has set a target for 2028 to make the country fully self-sufficient in rice production, with a total paddy production of 3.31 million tonnes.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, announced this at a press conference in Accra yesterday, on a Regional West African Resilient Rice Value Chains (REWARD) project.
“We have a gap of 44 per cent to fill, and our goal, our determination, is to fill this gap by the end of 2028,” he said.
Mr Opoku said rice was now the country’s second most important cereal after maize, and that population growth, urbanisation and changing consumer preferences had pushed demand well ahead of what local farmers could produce.
He said milled rice production had risen from about 650,000 tonnes in 2024 to 960,000 tonnes in 2025, yet local production met only about 56 per cent of national demand, with 44 per cent still imported at a cost of about $500 million annually.
“That is money that could be earned by Ghanaian farmers, millers, and traders,” the minister said.
Project
The minister said the REWARD project was an $18.8 million grant from the African Development Bank (AfDB), designed to remove bottlenecks holding back the rice value chain.
He described the project as a “Feed Ghana in action for rice”, in line with the Feed Ghana programme launched by President John Dramani Mahama in Techiman, on April 12, last year.
Mr Opoku said under the project, the government would support policy and regulatory reforms, develop 3,200 hectares of land for rice production in the northern savannah ecological zone, equip selected seed centres with seed cleaners, provide quality seed and mechanisation to raise yields from 3.5 to 4.5 tonnes per hectare, and also supply machinery, including rotary tillers, seed drills, combined harvesters, rice transplanters and boom sprayers.
Ten strategically located rice processing centres would be identified and equipped with parboiling vessels and hermetic storage cocoons to reduce post-harvest losses and link farmers to markets and the private sector.
“The project will reach more than 20,000 smallholder farmers in the Tamale metropolis, Mion, Savelugu, East Mamprusi, West Gonja, Bawku West, Wa Municipal, Sissala East and Nandom,” Mr Opoku added.
The project is expected to be launched in the first week of November this year, and would be implemented in the 2027 production season.
Mr Opoku further announced a shift in import policy, saying import quotas would be linked to local investment, with importers required to show verifiable partnerships with local producers before import permits were granted.
“We are not banning imports, which will only hurt consumers. Instead, we are channelling the value of imports into local production and empowering our farmers,” he said.
The minister expressed appreciation to Japan for a $2.5 million grant to supply equipment, which would include eight combined harvesters, trucks, 11 seed cleaning machines, maintenance tools and transformers.
They are expected to arrive in the country in November this year. There will also be training for value chain actors.
Source:https://www.graphic.com.gh
Oct 7, 2026
Ghana is targeting full self-sufficiency in rice production by 2028 as the government steps up efforts to close the country’s 44% rice supply gap.
Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, says the government is targeting total paddy rice production of 3.31 million metric tonnes by 2028, with the aim of ending the country’s reliance on rice imports.
Speaking at a press briefing on the Regional West African Resilient Rice Value Chains Project, the Minister said Ghana’s rice production has increased significantly, but local output remains insufficient to meet national demand.
“Rice is now Ghana’s second most important area after maize. Population growth, urbanization, and changing consumer preferences have pushed demand well ahead of what we produce,” Mr Opoku said.
According to him, milled rice production increased from about 650,000 tonnes in 2024 to 960,000 tonnes in 2025.
Despite the increase, he said local production currently meets only about 56% of national demand, leaving about 44% to be supplied through imports.
“This gap comes at a cost. Ghana spends approximately 500 million US dollars every year on rice imports. That is money that could be earned by Ghanaian farmers, millers, and traders,” he said.
The Minister said the government is determined to close the production gap within the next two years.
“Our national target is to become self-sufficient in rice by 2028, just two years ahead of us, with total paddy production of 3.31 million metric tons,” he said.
The government is also leveraging an $18.8 million grant from the African Development Bank (AfDB) under the Regional West African Resilient Rice Value Chains Project, known as REWARD, to support the rice sector.
Mr Opoku stressed that the funding is a grant and not a loan.
“We have received 18.8 million dollars for the development of our rice value chain, and this is a grant. It’s not a loan. A grant from the African Development Bank ,” he said.
The project will support policy and regulatory reforms, develop 3,200 hectares of land for rice production in the northern savanna ecological zone and improve access to quality seeds and mechanisation.
The intervention will also provide farm machinery, improve rice processing centres, reduce post-harvest losses and strengthen links between farmers, markets and the private sector.
The project is expected to reach more than 20,000 smallholder farmers across selected districts, while creating opportunities for aggregators, processors and service providers.
Mr Opoku said the initiative forms part of the government’s broader Feed Ghana programme.
“REWARD is Feed Ghana in action for rice. It is a deliberate intervention in the rice value chain to raise local output and reduce the national import bill,” he said.
The Minister said rice produced under the project will also help supply schools, prisons and other public institutions with quality locally produced rice.
Oct 7, 2026
The Food and Agriculture Minister and MP for Asunafo South in the Ahafo Region, Dr. Eric Opoku, has called on the people in the region to desist from buying imported chicken; instead, they should buy the locally made ones to boost the poultry industry.
Dr. Eric Opoku made the call at Pomaakrom in the Asunafo North Municipality in an engagement with farmers and also the presentation of irrigation equipment and bags of fertilizers to vegetable farmers.
In his address, the buying of imported chicken improves the economy of the countries the chicken comes from, meaning economically Ghana gains nothing and becomes the loser.
According to him, the purchasing of the locally made chicken means famers will expand their farmers to employ more people especially the youth to reduce unemployment and also the economy will grow as expected, therefore it’s proper for residents to start buying the home made ones.
Speaking on vegetable related issues, the Agric Minister however revealed that henceforth Ghana under the leadership of President John Dramani Mahama will not import tomatoes from Burkina Faso, therefore the irrigation equipment donated to the farmers to be used during the dry season must the used meaningfully.
He mentioned that government is set to provide more irrigation equipment under terms and conditions to help farmers to produce all year round.
Source:https://www.adomonline.com
