Members of AGRA, and their partners
Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), has launched a new five-year document, “AGRA 3.0 Strategy’’ to promote the processing of agricultural produce by smallholder farmers in the country.
The new strategy launched on Wednesday, June 21, 2023, in Accra aims to create an enabling environment for agro-processors to thrive, enhance the competitiveness of businesses in the value chain and strengthen raw material supply.
“Over the past few years, Ghana’s agriculture sector has enjoyed faster growth, improving the food security situation. The challenge now is to ensure that this growth is broad-based, sustainable and inclusive. Hence our planned focus on the agro-processing industry over the next five years to catalyze inclusive agricultural transformation,” said AGRA President, Dr Agnes Kalibata.
She further explained that, Ghana’s economy is dependent on the agriculture sector. This has led the government to implement structured policies and investment plans that have accelerated the sector’s growth from 2.3 per cent in 2015 to 7 per cent in 2020.
She also noted that, the 2022 State of Food and Nutrition Report, indicated that Ghana is one of the most food-secure countries in sub-Saharan Africa, but about 3.6 million people are food insecure, with only about 35 per cent of the population able to afford a healthy diet.
Ghana’s Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Bryan Acheampong, in a speech read on his behalf said, “We welcome the support of AGRA in the inclusive transformation of our agrifood sector, which is a major contributor to the economy.,”
He said the sector will greatly benefit from the efforts to link production and markets while integrating it with other sectors.
“This support will boost the various initiatives that the government is undertaking to address emerging issues such as the after-effects of the pandemic and the climate crisis,” he added.
By Nafisatu Abdul Razak