The World Bank Group and its development partners are supporting Ghana in creating the enabling environment for food security, job creation, a reduction in food imports, and the mobilisation of investment across priority agricultural value chains.
In collaboration with the Bretton Woods institutions, the recently launched AgriConnect Compact is a national framework to strengthen food security. The Compact sets out a coordinated agenda for public and private action to raise productivity, expand value addition, improve access to markets and finance, and strengthen resilience across Ghana’s agri-food system.
The project prioritises cocoa, oil palm, rice, maize, and poultry, while supporting other strategic sectors, including cashew, coconut, rubber, fisheries, and the forest economy.
In its first phase, from 2026 to 2030, the Compact aims to improve food and nutrition security for an estimated 2.99 million people and support the creation of more than 2.6 million jobs by 2035.
Financing needs for the first phase are estimated at about $3.5 billion, with contributions expected from the Government of Ghana, development partners, and the private sector.
The Compact brings together policy reforms, targeted investments, and delivery mechanisms within a single national framework to position agriculture as a driver of inclusive growth, industrialisation, resilience, and long-term prosperity.
“Ghana’s AgriConnect Compact is a bold step toward building a more productive, resilient, and jobs-rich food system. By linking policy reform with investment and delivery, Ghana is creating the conditions to strengthen food security, support farmers and agribusinesses, and unlock private capital at scale,” said Guangzhe Chen, World Bank Group Vice President for Planet.
While expressing the government’s commitment, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, said, “AgriConnect is about turning Ghana’s agricultural potential into tangible results: more food on the table, more jobs for young people, and more value created here at home. This Compact provides a clear roadmap to modernise agriculture, support farmers, and build stronger value chains that can drive growth nationwide.”
“This is Ghana’s moment to feed itself, employ its youth, build competitive industries and create wealth from its own soil,” Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Ampem Darko, also added his voice.
The initiative is designed to strengthen domestic production, build resilience, and support a more competitive rural economy. It focuses on irrigation, seed systems, mechanisation, farmer services, agro-processing, and logistics so that more food is grown, processed, and marketed in Ghana.
Story by Kofi Nartey
