Ghana risks food crisis due to poor agriculture funding – Parliament’s Agric Committee chair

Ghana’s food security is under threat due to low investment in agriculture, the Chairman of Parliament’s Agric Committee, Dr Godfred Seidu Jasaw, has warned.

Speaking in an interview on Citi FM on Wednesday, March 19, Dr Jasaw criticised the government’s budgetary allocation to agriculture, saying it is too small to drive growth and sustain food production.

He noted that the 2025 budget allocated GHS 2.9 billion to the sector, including donor support, but the government’s direct contribution is only GHS 1.5 billion—an amount he described as inadequate.

Mr Jasaw said this falls far below the African Union’s directive for member states to allocate at least 10% of their budgets to agriculture. Ghana’s allocation, he said, represents less than 1% of the total budget, trailing other sectors.

He pointed out that the School Feeding Programme received GHS 1.7 billion, while the Road Fund was allocated GHS 2.8 billion, nearly double the agriculture budget.

He also raised concerns about how previous agricultural funds have been used, stating that in the last budget, GHS 700 million was allocated to the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative, yet much of the remaining funds went into administrative costs, capital projects, and staff salaries rather than directly supporting farmers.

Mr Jasaw called for urgent reforms in agricultural financing and suggested that part of the $13 billion “Big Push” infrastructure fund be invested in irrigation, mechanisation, and post-harvest storage to boost production.

He also pointed to other funding sources, including the $20.2 million Savannah Investment Programme, $9.3 million from Korea EXIM Bank for digital transformation in agriculture, and $2.1 million from KFW’s Outgrower and Valuation Fund.

“As a country, we cannot continue treating agriculture as an afterthought. If we do not invest strategically, we will soon face a major food crisis,” he warned, adding that Parliament’s Agric Committee will monitor spending to ensure funds benefit farmers and improve food production.