GHANA – In a race to be food-secure and relieve the burden of importing agricultural produce to feed the people, Ghana has procured US$29.9 million worth of machinery and equipment from Brazil to boost the country’s agricultural mechanization efforts.
The machinery and equipment, according to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, will be utilized to improve the development of agricultural land, planting, harvesting, and primary processing to boost productivity, add more jobs, and make agriculture lucrative, particularly for young people.
The procurement of the farm tools is just a temporal measure, as the President noted that the government plans to start preparatory work for establishing a Tractor and Backhoe Loader Assembly factory in the Ashanti Region, this year.
It will also have a continuous capacity building of operators to ensure optimal management and lengthen the lifespan of agricultural machinery.
“This intervention is adding some eighty thousand metric tonnes (80,000mt) to national grain storage capacity,” Mr. Akufo-Addo remarked.
Ghana has constructed 65 warehouses, with 15 others at advanced stages of completion, to help address the vexed issue of post-harvest losses.
In addition, the Ghana has also invested in both large and small-scale irrigation infrastructure across the country, as well as adopted appropriate technologies and other innovative practices for sustainable agriculture and resilience against food insecurity.
“In 2022, the government completed the rehabilitation and modernization of large-scale irrigation schemes at Tono, Kpong, and Kpong Left Bank projects. The three schemes are expected to provide 6,766 hectares of irrigable land for all-year-round crop production,” he said.
“Phases I and II of the Tamne irrigation Project have also been completed, with Phase III of the project at 57 percent completion.”
All the investment in the agricultural infrastructure, especially in irrigation, is to try and empower the citizens to shift from the rain-fed venture as the impact of climate change is already evident in the agricultural sector.
In 2021, Ghana established a five-member ad hoc Cabinet Committee to work on a program to reduce the country’s import bill, which stood at US$13.7 billion in 2021 in the short, medium, and long term.
The program would also enhance domestic product capacity in selected products, generate widespread employment opportunities, and diversify and expand export capacity under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA).
The 20 prioritized domestic products include rice, fish, poultry, fruit juice, sugar, tomatoes, vegetable oils, oil palm, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, soaps and detergents, insulated wire, ceramic products, corrugated paper and paper board, cement/clinker, and motor vehicles.
The report on the implementation of the modalities to enhance the domestic productive capacity of the products has been prepared and once confirmed, the President said the new minister for trade will announce and roll out a series of initiatives to implement the policy.
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