Ahead of its launch on April 11, 2025 in Techiman in the Bono East Region, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture has outdoored nine pragmatic initiatives under the Feed Ghana Programme (FGP), a flagship project under the Agriculture for Economic Transformation Agenda (AETA).
With a primary aim to reduce the country’s over-dependence on food import, reduce food inflation, achieve food security and promote sustainable agriculture, the FGP has promised to roll out these initiatives across the agricultural value chain to empower youth entrepreneurship and create employment.
The implementation plan will encourage the smart advancement of agriculture by setting up Farmers’ Service Centres across the country in every district to provide essential services such as training and technical guidance and improve market access.
The ministry, through its partners, will also establish Farm Banks within agricultural enclaves to facilitate land access and irrigation services, primarily aimed at young entrepreneurs and farmers. The Minister emphasized that the program’s benefits will be free from political affiliations while responding to a question on how previous projects under the ministry were handled by the ministry.
Another implementation plan under the FGP is the Grains and Legumes Development Initiative.
This will champion the promotion of vital grains and legumes such as maize, rice, sorghum, and soybean for consumption, agro-industry, and export opportunities to boost the domestic and export markets. According to the sector Minister, this initiative will enhance “access to high-quality inputs like seeds, fertilizers, agrochemicals, as well as storage and processing infrastructures.”
The Vegetable Development Project (YƐREDUA), as part of the FGP, will employ controlled environment farming in greenhouses to enhance the production of essential vegetables, tomatoes, onions, peppers, and others.
Recall that the Minister and his Deputy, John Dumelo, in the company of the Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association of Ghana (VEPEAG), recently toured the Dawhenya Irrigation Scheme, where some state-owned greenhouses have been abandoned for years. He promised to revamp the enclave to realise its full benefits.
The YƐREDUA initiative will also establish sustainable ready-to-cultivate spaces equipped with irrigation systems for open-field cultivation while offering technical “assistance to urban and peri-urban vegetable farmers and advocate for home, school, and community gardening programs.”
The FGP will also create an environment that supports Institutional Farming. It will provide assistance for institutional commercial farming programs. Under this, Mr Eric Opoku disclosed that the Ministry will partner with the National Service Authority to “engage 5,000 Agricultural and Veterinary graduates this year alongside existing farming support, as well as the National Youth Employment Agency, the Prisons Service, Senior High Schools, and religious institutions.”
As an industry that relies heavily on imports to meet demand, the Feed Ghana Programme (FGP) is also big on Poultry Industry Revitalization. Ghana imports poultry products worth $300 million annually, a story the ministry wants to change.
It will champion the “Poultry Farm to Table’ Project to increase poultry production in partnership with Poultry Farmers Associations and incentivize household poultry production, domestic consumption and interest through the Nkoko Nketenkete programme.”
Another project under the FGP is the Livestock Development Initiative to increase the production of meat and dairy from cattle, pigs, and small ruminants, to strengthen the national livestock sector.
Besides, the Feed the Industry Programme under this project will target agro-processing where the production of local raw materials for animal feed manufacturing will guarantee a steady supply of agricultural products for industrial use.
It will offer incentives for the palm oil industry to improve the country’s consumption deficit through the implementation of the out-grower scheme. Other industrial crops such as cashew, mango, coconut, shea, and rubber through agro-industrial zones are also being considered under this project.
As part of the transformation agenda, the FGP will also invest heavily in infrastructure and agro-production Enclaves equipped with resources, including irrigation systems, access roads, and warehousing facilities, to boost productivity and enhance market access.
One of the major challenges the sector faces, especially farmers, is a lack of access to financial packages to boost their businesses. This, the Minister of Food and Agriculture said the FGP will help address through Innovative Agricultural Financing.
According to him, the Exim Bank will “offer concessional financing for farmers and agricultural enterprises through cooperatives and community banks, particularly for export and value-added agricultural projects.
Also, MoFA will “resource the Ghana Incentive-based Risk Sharing Agricultural Lending (GIRSAL) scheme to reduce lending risks and provide insurance coverage.”
