Oct 28, 2026
The National Food Buffer Stock Company Ltd (NAFCO) and the Ghana Industrial Cassava Stakeholders’ Platform (GICSP) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the supply of locally produced Gari to schools under the Free Senior High School Programme.
NAFCO CEO, Mr George Abradu-Otoo and the President of GICSP, Mr. Chris Quarshie initialled the MoU intended to boost local production and processing of Gari and curb the supply of imported gari in schools.
The move is also a response to reported glut of cassava and cassava-related products in parts of the country during the last farming season, compelling many local farmers to call for state intervention.
Under the framework of the MoU, the group and its members are expected to aggregate the product from local farmers and processors for onward distribution to schools on behalf of NAFCO.
NAFCO supplied some 4,800 metric tones of Gari to senior high schools last academic year and the new arrangements are intended to enhance traceability, quality and uninterrupted supplies.
NAFCO had earlier signed similar arrangements with local palm oil processors.
The General Secretary of the Ghana Industrial Cassava Stakeholders’ Platform, Mr Shadrach Sarpei Kwadey, noted that in addition to market access, the MOU provides an opportunity for economic growth in rural communities.
Oct 27, 2026
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has cut the sod for the construction of a GH¢4.1 million inland valley irrigation project at Aninkroma in the Atwima Nwabiagya North District of the Ashanti Region.
The project, which would be completed in 16 months, is being implemented under the Food System Resilience Project (FSRP) by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), in collaboration with the Atwima Nwabiagya North District Assembly and is targeted at boosting agricultural production, strengthening food security and creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for farmers.
Upon completion, the project is expected to also improve farmers’ access to suitable agricultural land, increase crop production and create employment opportunities in Aninkroma and surrounding communities.
The investment forms part of broader efforts to strengthen Ghana’s agricultural sector through infrastructure development, improved water management and expanded farming opportunities.
Mr Opoku, who is also the Member of Parliament for Asunafo South, was assisted by his Deputy, John Dumelo, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Atwima Nwabiagya North, Mba Zechariah Alenbilla and Nana Gyedu Kumanin IV, Amakyebarehene. Also present were officials from the Ashanti Regional Department of Agriculture, FSRP coordinators, project consultants, contractors, assembly members, farmers and residents from Aninkroma and surrounding communities.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Opoku emphasised the importance of investing in agricultural infrastructure to enhance productivity, improve farmers’ incomes and contribute to the country’s food security agenda.
500 acres secured
He said approximately 500 acres of land had been secured for the project, which was expected to provide a reliable, year-round water supply for farmers in the project area and beyond.
The project is expected to support irrigation, promote all-season farming and improve agricultural productivity, particularly rice cultivation and other farming activities that depend on reliable water resources.
Mr Opoku said the project would include the construction of bunds to support rice farmers in the catchment area by improving water management and creating favourable conditions for cultivation.
He said the Ashanti Region remained a major centre of agricultural production and value-chain activities in the country, adding that the government was committed to supporting the sector’s development.
He noted that farming remained a major occupation in many of the region’s 43 districts, making investments in agricultural infrastructure essential to improving livelihoods and promoting economic growth.
The minister called on the youth, particularly young men and women, to consider farming as a viable economic venture, citing its potential to generate income and create employment opportunities.
He reaffirmed the assembly’s commitment to supporting initiatives that would promote economic development, improve agricultural production and enhance the livelihoods of residents.
The Amakyebarehene, Nana Gyedu Kumanin IV, who chaired the ceremony, commended the government and the Minister for Food and Agriculture for the initiative.
Source:https://www.graphic.com.gh
Oct 27, 2026
Minister for Food and Agriculture Eric Opoku has donated GH¢50,000 to Ghana’s national amputee football team, the Black Challenge, and pledged a poultry enterprise package for eight locally based players, linking World Cup preparations with economic opportunities beyond the pitch.
The proposed package includes battery cages, laying birds, feed and technical expertise. Opoku said Deputy Minister John Dumelo would coordinate the support after the players return from the tournament in Mexico.
The commitment gives substance to the link between agriculture and sport: backing athletes to represent Ghana while helping them build businesses and contribute to the country’s food production.
Opoku announced the support during a visit to the team’s training session at the University of Ghana. He was accompanied by Dumelo, the ministry’s Chief Director and its budget officer.
“You are going to hold the flag of Ghana, and our presence here indicates that the whole nation is behind you,” he told the players.
The minister said the team needed motivational and financial support to prepare for the international assignment, urging the players to compete with confidence.
“You are stronger than you know,” he said, encouraging them to make Ghana proud.
The GH¢50,000 donation follows a GH¢100,000 contribution from dancehall artiste Stonebwoy. Together, the two contributions amount to GH¢150,000 in support for the team’s preparations.
Opoku said he had been informed that the team comprised eight locally based players and seven based in Turkey. He invited the eight players based in Ghana to join the government’s Nkoko Nketenkete poultry programme after the World Cup.
“The Ministry of Food and Agriculture is putting together a special package, so as soon as you return, get in touch with us,” he said.
“The Honourable Dumelo will handle all of you.”
Listing the proposed assistance, Opoku said the ministry would provide cages, laying birds, feed and the technical expertise to establish the players as poultry farmers, adding that the intention was for them to “have something to live on.”
The announcement extends the discussion of athlete welfare to income during and after competitive sport. For the players, a viable poultry enterprise could help support their households while they continue training and competing.
Opoku also connected the pledge to the ministry’s national responsibility to produce enough food for Ghanaians and generate a surplus for export.
Nkoko Nketenkete is the household and backyard poultry component of the Feed Ghana Programme, launched by President John Dramani Mahama. The programme’s stated aims include improving food security and household incomes through increased domestic production.
Extending participation to the Black Challenge would give that agricultural agenda a practical expression of inclusion, recognising athletes with disabilities as potential entrepreneurs and producers.
If delivered with accessible training, suitable facilities and continuing technical support, the package could provide an example for cooperation between sports institutions and agricultural agencies. The broader opportunity is to create pathways through which other Para athletes can participate in agribusiness on terms suited to their interests and circumstances.
The players have been asked to contact the ministry after returning from Mexico. The commitment now gives the ministry and the team a clear basis for agreeing how the promised enterprises will be established and supported.
Ghana will face Angola, Colombia and Iraq in Group D of the 2026 World Amputee Football Federation World Cup, scheduled for 13–22 November in San Juan de los Lagos, Mexico. Twenty-four national teams will compete for the title.
As the Black Challenge prepare for that contest, Opoku’s message combines national backing with a prospect of greater economic independence.
“You have the full support of the entire citizenry of this country,” he assured the players.
Source:https://www.myjoyonline.com
Oct 26, 2026
The Accelerating Change Through Innovation in Agricultural TVET (ACTIVATE) Project being funded by the Mastercard
Foundation is offering an alternative livelihood empowerment training for 350 vulnerable young people in the Sunyani West Municipality.
The Foundation with support from the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) is funding the project implementation, with Mimshack Cooperative Cashew Farmers and Marketing Society Limited (Mimshack CFMS Ltd), a farmer-based organization serving as a key institutional
contractor and training service provider.
Between the ages of 15 to 35 years, the beneficiaries, mostly young females, Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), internally displaced persons and refugees.
Personnel of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and other experts are taking them through grasscutter and rabbit rearing, snail and mushroom
production and beekeeping. The beneficiaries were picked from Sereso, Wabrase, Tumamiayanko, Aprakukrom, Boffourkrom, Koase, Nkawdom and Morokrom in the Municipality of the Bono Region for the training and to better their socio-economic livelihoods.
Speaking at an induction ceremony for the beneficiaries, held at Koase, a farming community in the Municipality, Mr Amos Kwasi Bintir, the
Executive Director of the Mimshack CFMS Ltd mentioned that the cooperative is mandated to train the learners in two major trade areas of cashew agro processing and financial literacy agribusiness skills. He said on completion the beneficiaries would be provided with start-up tools for each trade area to set their own businesses and constructed cashew agro processing shed for each center.
Mr Bintir explained that the ACTIVATE Project focused on creating opportunities in the agricultural sector for vulnerable people.
He said the training would provide job-ready skills that meet real-world demands, saying that the project aimed at empowering the beneficiaries
with industry-recognized competencies, enhancing their employability and contributing to economic growth in the agricultural sector and beyond.
The project is an 18-month contractual agreement from October 2026 to December 2027, saying that Mimshack would play a pivotal role in
delivering decentralized, community-based competency training and transition-to-work support for 2,000 young beneficiaries in 2026.
Dr John Ayisi, a retired agriculturist and the lead facilitator, lauded the project, saying its implementation would provide ready job opportunities for the members of the project implementing communities.
He advised the beneficiaries to take the training seriously, urging them to be time conscious and disciplined. Mr Cletus Darko, the Assembly Member for the Koase Electoral Area, commended the cooperative and its partners for the opportunity and expressed the hope that the project implementation would benefit more of the vulnerable young people in the area.
Mr Dognekoh Atta Kwasi Snr, the Presiding Member of the Sunyani West Municipal Assembly equally represented Mr Asante Boateng, the Sunyani West Municipal Chief Executive and Mrs Millicent Yeboah Amankwaa, the Member of Parliament (MP) of Parliament for Sunyani West
Constituency.
He noted that the project implementation aligned with the government’s efforts towards job creation and poverty reduction.
Mr Dognekor affirmed the assembly commitment to support the project for the local communities to derive the optimum benefits and commended the cooperative and its partners.
Portia Abawono, 18 years and one of the beneficiaries selected from Morokorm told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that she was highly excited about the opportunity created for her to learn grasscutter rearing. She called on the project implementers to extend it to benefit more of the young girls in the area.
Another beneficiary, Abdulai Seidu, 25 years, also from Morokrom also expressed his appreciation to the Cooperative, saying that the grasscutter rearing would empower him to support his upkeep and that of his family.
Oct 22, 2026
Agricultural analyst Dr Joseph Opoku Gakpo has urged the government to prioritise agricultural extension services, saying stronger support for extension personnel is essential to helping farmers adopt innovations and improving food security in Ghana.
Speaking in an interview to mark World Food Day on October 16, Dr Gakpo said investment in agricultural research would have limited impact if farmers did not receive clear communication about innovations and could not translate them into practical solutions.
This year’s World Food Day theme, “Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow,” highlighted the role of science and innovation in building sustainable food systems and ensuring food security for future generations.
World Food Day is observed annually to commemorate the founding of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 1945.
The occasion raises awareness of hunger and malnutrition and promotes efforts to build sustainable and resilient agrifood systems.
“If we want to boost innovations in our food systems, we must invest adequately in agricultural extension personnel and the systems that support their work.
“Without effective extension services, innovations developed at universities and research institutions may never reach the farmers who need them, limiting the benefits of investments in agricultural research,” Dr Gakpo said.
He stressed that extension personnel need technical knowledge of crop and livestock production, soil health, pest management, post-harvest management and marketing, and other sustainable farming practices.
But they must also possess strong communication and other soft skills to explain scientific concepts clearly and build trusting relationships with farmers.
“Communicating scientific information effectively is important. And so is building trust. Whether we are introducing regenerative farming practices, genetically modified organisms, or improved post-harvest management techniques, farmers need to understand the technologies and trust the people introducing them. Without that trust, adoption can be difficult,” he said.
Dr Gakpo cited research he co-authored with Dr Katherine McKee, an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences at North Carolina State University, USA, which identified trust as an important determinant of technology acceptance, to back his point.
The study, titled “How Do Scientists Promoting Genetically Modified Seeds in Africa Build Trust? The Experience of Ghanaian Farmers,” was published in the Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education.
The study, which interviewed farmers in Ghana’s three northern regions, recommended that institutions “seeking to introduce farmers to new technologies use intermediaries the farmers trust… communicate effectively, encourage peer validation, and build collaborative relationships.”
Call for greater investment in extension services
Agricultural extension services bridge the gap between research and farming practice by providing farmers with information, training, technical advice and access to innovations.
In Ghana, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), through its Directorate of Agricultural Extension Services and regional and district structures, plays a central role in coordinating these activities.
Dr Gakpo called for deliberate and sustained investment in the country’s extension system, arguing that inadequate staffing limits the support available to farmers.
“Ghana has approximately one agricultural extension officer for every 1,700 farmers, compared with the FAO’s recommended ratio of about one officer to about 500 farmers.
Although the appropriate ratio may vary depending on the context, the gap highlights the need for more extension personnel and better working conditions for them,” he said.
“Investing in these systems can help ensure that agricultural innovations translate into improved production, better market access and stronger livelihoods,” he added.
Dr Gakpo also described the proposed Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services Bill currently being championed by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture as an opportunity to strengthen the delivery and regulation of extension services in Ghana.
The government said the bill aims to modernise extension service delivery and establish a clear legal and regulatory framework for agricultural extension and advisory services nationwide.
According to Dr Gakpo, provisions for professional oversight and regulating service providers could improve the quality and accountability of extension services.
“The proposed bill includes measures to establish a National Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services Council to regulate extension professionals and oversee standards and training.
“It also proposes a regulatory unit to monitor and evaluate organisations providing extension and advisory services. These measures could strengthen professionalism and service quality, ensuring that farmers receive more effective support,” he said.
Final word on World Food Day
Dr Gakpo said World Food Day should remind us to ensure everyone in Ghana has access to sufficient, nutritious food. Citing figures from the Ghana Statistical Service, he said a significant proportion of the population still faces food insecurity despite progress in the agricultural sector.
“Available figures indicate that about 10 per cent of Ghana’s population remains food insecure. My hope is that, by the time we mark World Food Day next year, that figure will have declined considerably,” he said.
He called for strengthening food systems beyond the focus on increasing production. “Food security is not just about how much food we produce.
“We must also ensure that food is available, accessible and affordable to everyone. Food is a basic human right, and everyone deserves the opportunity to access it,” Dr Gakpo said.
Source:https://www.myjoyonline.com
Oct 21, 2026
Zonda Tec Ghana has launched Ghana-assembled HOWO light-duty trucks for farmers and traders, a month after President John Mahama moved to tie assemblers’ tax breaks to local production.
The HOWO T3M range comes in four variants, with payloads from 2.7 tonnes to 12 tonnes, in open-bucket or cargo bodies. The Business and Financial Times (B&FT) reported that it was unveiled at an event in Dzorwulu, Accra. The company is aiming the trucks at farmers, produce aggregators, wholesalers, retailers and logistics firms, which move food from farm gate to market.
The stakes for agriculture are measurable, but only partly about transport. The African Postharvest Losses Information System (APHLIS) estimates that Ghana loses about 18 percent of its maize after harvest. In 2021 that came to 276,568 tonnes, worth more than $134 million, or about GH¢1.56 billion at the Bank of Ghana interbank rate of GH¢11.66 to the dollar on 16 October. The same data shows that most of that loss happens during harvesting and field drying, before any truck is loaded.
Zonda Tec Chief Executive Officer Yang Yang told the launch that all four payload classes were assembled in Ghana. Engineers from Chinese manufacturer Sinotruk are training local technicians. “We need to shift from trading to engineering,” she said, and she urged the government to back the auto engineering industry.
Ruby Palm, a deputy director at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, spoke on behalf of the minister. She said higher farm output must be matched by aggregation, storage, processing and distribution, according to B&FT. She asked Zonda Tec and its partners to focus on affordability, financing, spare parts and after-sales service.
That message matches the policy direction set at the company’s Tema plant on 15 September. Commissioning the plant’s third phase, Mahama announced plans for a minimum local-assembly threshold that manufacturers must meet to qualify for value added tax exemptions. He said assemblers would also be expected to source more parts locally, including batteries, tyres, wiring harnesses, seats and glass, and that details would come in the national budget. The plant employs more than 800 Ghanaians, the Ghana News Agency reported.
Sinotruk’s Chief Representative in Ghana, identified only as Mr Lu, told the launch that the company began assembling heavy-duty trucks in Ghana in 2019. It expanded capacity in 2023 and has since extended its facilities to cover light-duty models. The 2023 expansion raised the plant’s annual capacity from 850 trucks to about 3,000.
The T3M runs on a 2.98-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine producing up to 120 horsepower and 340 newton-metres of torque, with a six-speed manual gearbox. It has a 120-litre fuel tank, air conditioning, compressed-air brakes and an exhaust brake, according to specifications published by B&FT. The company said specifications may vary by configuration.
Cost remains the open question for smallholders, and reports of the launch carried no prices. At the September commissioning, Mahama proposed a salary-deduction payment plan to help workers buy locally assembled vehicles.
Source:https://newsghana.com.gh
