President John Dramani Mahama has used this year’s National Farmers’ Day platform to lay out an ambitious plan to reshape Ghana’s agricultural landscape, promising targeted investments to expand food production and curb the country’s heavy reliance on imports.
Speaking at the 41st edition of the event in Ho, the President praised farmers for sustaining food supply despite the hardships posed by climate change, rising input costs and shrinking farmlands. He emphasized that accessible and affordable food remains essential to Ghana’s development and cannot be compromised.
Mahama decried the nearly US$3 billion the nation spends annually on importing basic food items, calling it an unsustainable drain on the economy. He argued that turning the situation around requires a resilient, innovation-driven agricultural agenda.
Central to his plan is the newly launched Feed Ghana Programme, designed to modernize farming through job creation, expanded processing, improved yields and enhanced market systems. The programme focuses on strengthening value chains across cereals, legumes, vegetables, tree crops, livestock and poultry. Efforts are also underway to expand irrigation networks, establish farmer service hubs, upgrade storage capacity, and improve access to finance and insurance.
The President announced that targeted support measures have already yielded results, reducing food inflation from 28.3 percent to 9.5 percent between January and October 2025. During the period, government supplied tens of thousands of tonnes of fertilizer and hybrid seeds to boost production.
In irrigation, Mahama reported progress on 3,520 hectares currently under development and ongoing works on the 3,220-hectare Afram Plains Economic Enclave. Fifteen solar-powered irrigation boreholes have been completed to support all-year vegetable production, with more set to follow.
He added that the Volta Region will soon benefit from a dedicated vegetable development programme aimed at increasing cultivation and expanding market opportunities for farmers.
Mahama reaffirmed that his administration will continue to pursue structured, well-sequenced interventions to create a strong agricultural base capable of ensuring food security, enhancing rural livelihoods and driving national growth.
