Ghana's Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson revealed a new effort to stimulate industrial growth by proposing targeted agricultural tax incentives and refunds in his Budget Statement and Economic Policy on November 13, 2025.
This approach intends to transform agriculture into a 24-hour economy engine, raise production, boost profitability for agribusinesses, and build dynamic linkages with industry, beyond just providing relief.
This declaration marks a watershed moment for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and entrepreneurs along Ghana's agricultural value chain.
The incentives provide a unique chance for agripreneurs to scale, innovate, and contribute meaningfully to Ghana's industrial transition by lowering tax burdens, promoting investment, and driving value-added.
This article examines how the program fits into bigger economic goals and discusses seven specific ways that SMEs and entrepreneurs might benefit.
Reducing the cost of doing Business
Tax credits and rebates reduce the effective tax burden for agribusinesses, whether they produce, process, or export.
For SMEs and entrepreneurs, this means that more of their money can be reinvested in their company rather than devoured by tax bills. Lower taxes free up working capital, allowing for the purchase of better inputs, seeds, fertiliser, machinery, or the construction of storage and processing plants.
Even tiny tax breaks can shift a company from survival to expansion mode in a sector with thin margins and high risks (weather, input costs, market pricing).
Encouraging value addition and Processing
Raw agricultural production alone limits profitability.
The budget’s emphasis on agro-processing, packaging, and value-added goods creates an opportunity for SMEs to move further up the chain. Tax incentives targeted at processing units – for example, reduced tax on profits from processing, or rebates for investment in machinery and make it more viable to build local processing plants or expand existing ones.
This allows entrepreneurs to capture more of the value, avoid being price takers selling raw commodities, and tap into higher-margin markets (domestic and export). The link between tax incentives and processing encourages upgrading of business models and greater industrial integration.
Increasing mechanization and productivity gains
Increased productivity is another significant benefit. Agricultural mechanization leads to increased yields, cheaper unit costs, and larger scale. The government has highlighted efforts to deliver equipment through Farmer Service Centres, among other things.
Tax advantages such as accelerated depreciation of machinery, investment credits for equipment acquisition, and tax breaks for mechanized agribusinesses lower the cost of mechanization for SMEs.
Entrepreneurs then get access to more efficient operations, increased competitiveness, and the capacity to consistently serve industrial and export value chains.
Improving access to finance and investor attraction
Agribusiness entrepreneurs frequently have difficulty acquiring funding due to perceived risks (weather, crop failure, global commodity price volatility).
Targeted tax breaks provide a clear message to investors, banks, and development finance organisations that the government supports agribusiness.
Incentives for agricultural start-ups, such as investor tax credits, lower withholding taxes, or tax relief, lessen their risk profile. For SMEs, this includes better borrowing circumstances or equity investment opportunities.
The enhanced return profile and lower tax drag make agribusiness ventures more appealing to investors, allowing for scalability and expansion.
Encourage export-orientation and import substitution
Tax breaks can be designed to benefit businesses that add value and export goods or substitute imports.
For Ghana's SMEs and entrepreneurs, this is an opportunity to enter global markets or meet domestic demand for processed agricultural goods.
For example, an agribusiness unit that manufactures packaged cashew or shea butter for export could benefit from tax breaks, making the exported product more cost competitive.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that produce local input-substituting items (e.g., animal feed, processed rice) may receive favourable tax treatment, allowing them to substitute imports and strengthen domestic value chains.
Stimulating regional agribusiness hubs and cluster development
The government has prioritised infrastructure development, including agro-industrial zones, processing units throughout regions, and upgrades to roadways and logistics.
Tax incentives can be linked to regional zoning, such as increased rebates for agribusinesses located in priority zones or tax breaks for operations in inland or underdeveloped areas.
This creates chances for SMEs and entrepreneurs outside of major urban areas: establishing businesses in regional agricultural hubs results in lower tax burdens and better access to infrastructure, processing plants, and transportation networks.
Youth and Women-Led agripreneurship
Small and medium-sized agribusinesses frequently employ young and female entrepreneurs who face higher entry barriers.
Tax breaks can be adjusted to favour youth- and women-led agribusinesses (for example, extra tax relief or shorter payback periods).
This creates a conducive climate for inclusive entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs in these areas will profit disproportionately from lower upfront tax burdens, improved cash flow, and increased incentives to innovate (in agritech, processing, and packaging) and integrate into value chains.
Conclusion
Ghana's agricultural and industrial strategy has undergone a significant transition from subsistence production to commercial, value-added, export-oriented agribusiness integrated with contemporary industry and the 24-hour economy thanks to the targeted agribusiness tax incentives and rebates announced by the Ministry of Finance under Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson. Opportunities for SMEs and entrepreneurs are numerous and include reduced costs, processing paths, increased productivity, easier access to financing, export possibilities, regional advancement, and inclusive growth.
The writer is Senior Lecturer/SME Industry Coach, Coordinator (MBA Impact Entrepreneurship and Innovation) at the University of Professional Studies Accra
ayiku.andrews@upsamail.edu.gh
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