The Chief Executive Officer of Agri-Impact Limited, Dr. (h.c.) Daniel Fahene Acquaye, has welcomed the federal government’s vital building up in budgetary allocation to the agriculture and agribusiness sectors from 0.5% of the nationwide finances in 2025 to five% in 2026, describing it as a daring step towards strengthening the monetary resources.

Speaking on the Regional Agribusiness Dialogue hung on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, on the Global Dream Hotel in Tamale, within the Northern Region, Dr. Acquaye famous that the brand new allocation, amounting to roughly GH¢13 billion, is ten occasions upper than the former yr’s.

He, on the other hand, cautioned that with out addressing Ghana’s continual post-harvest losses, the funding won’t yield the specified transformation. Ghana’s post-harvest losses are estimated at US$1.9 billion once a year.

“It is important to mention that in the 2026 budget, we have seen a significant budget allocation for agriculture and agribusiness. The 2025 budget was so small that it represented about 0.5% of the total national budget. In 2026, it has increased to about 5% of the total national budget, which is very substantial—about ten times what was allocated in 2025. This is good, and we want to appreciate the government for that.”

“Now that we have increased our budget to about 13 billion Ghana cedis (covering agriculture, agribusiness, and fisheries), it represents only about 50% of our post-harvest losses. This means our post-harvest loss is so huge that until we address it, any money we put into agriculture will only add to the existing post-harvest loss.”

Recurring drought and glut 

The agribusiness knowledgeable additional expressed worry over Ghana’s ordinary cycle of meals shortages all over droughts and gluts all over sessions of excellent rainfall, describing it as a long-standing systemic failure that will have to be urgently corrected.

He wondered why Ghana continues to battle irrespective of climate prerequisites. “When there is drought, we have a challenge; when it rains, we have a challenge. This problem existed before I was born, and today it remains the same. It cannot continue,” he wired.

Dr. Acquaye additionally highlighted the disconnect between manufacturing and processing. “When farmers produce, they don’t have agro-processors. When processors establish factories, they don’t have raw materials. There is a clear disconnect,” he mentioned.

He warned that except Ghana strengthens essential infrastructure reminiscent of roads, irrigation, garage amenities, and branding get admission to, gluts and shortages will persist, leaving farmers not able to take pleasure in their arduous paintings.

Dr. (h.c.) Acquaye additional known as for pressing coverage reforms and deeper funding in agricultural infrastructure in Northern Ghana, arguing that the area has the prospective to feed all the country but suffers from critical under-investment.

The agribusiness and worth chain knowledgeable famous that Northern Ghana, which makes up over 40% of Ghana’s overall land floor, produces key vegetation reminiscent of rice, maize, soya, yam, groundnut, sorghum, cotton amongst others but, the area has only a few agro-processing amenities so as to add worth to the produce.

Post-harvest losses of yam up north 

He published that the post-harvest lack of yam by myself equals about 30% of all the 2026 agriculture finances, underscoring the dimensions of waste and the pressing want for infrastructure investments. Poor street networks, insufficient irrigation methods, and seasonal flooding, he mentioned, proceed to deepen vulnerabilities for farmers.

“This region should be the breadbasket of the entire nation,” Dr. Acquaye emphasised. He recommended the federal government and personal monetary resources to prioritize processing crops, garage methods, and post-harvest infrastructure to free up the area’s complete possible.

Deputy Minister on interventions 

Also talking on the tournament, the Deputy Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Sampson Ahi, reaffirmed the federal government’s dedication to repositioning the agribusiness monetary resources as a big pillar for Ghana’s commercial transformation and the envisioned 24-hour market system.

In a speech delivered on his behalf through Mr. George Owusu Ansah Amoah, Director of the Research, Statistics and Information Management Directorate (RSIM) on the Ministry, Mr. Ahi famous that Ghana stands at a defining second as multinational agribusiness potential markets proceed to make bigger.

He referenced projections indicating that the multinational agribusiness branding—recently valued between US$3.4 trillion and US$3.5 trillion—is predicted to achieve between US$4.4 trillion and US$5.8 trillion through 2033.

“We have a unique opportunity to tap into this expanding market through innovation, value addition, contract farming, and sustainable agribusiness practices,” he mentioned.

The Deputy Minister defined that the realignment of the Ministry, from the Ministry of Trade and Industry to the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, indicators a planned govt shift towards strengthening linkages between agriculture and growth.

To enhance agro-industrialization, he introduced a two-phased earnings for making improvements to get admission to to agricultural equipment. “In the short term, government will waive taxes on agro-processing machinery to lower costs and incentivize investment,” he published.

The Agribusiness Dialogue bureaucracy a part of efforts through the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, with enhance from key companions together with Agri-Impact Limited, to hunt inputs for the method of a countrywide agribusiness coverage for the rustic.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made through Readers and Contributors in this platform don’t essentially constitute the perspectives or coverage of Multimedia Group Limited.