Leverage ministry’s social capital, investors impact to address irrigation gap — WFP Food Systems Director

The Food Systems Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), Steven Nhyira Odarteifio, has urged the incoming Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, to leverage the ministry’s social capital with development partners and investors to address the irrigation gap in the northern part of the country.

That, he said, would help to revitalise agricultural colleges nationwide and spearhead a food self-sufficiency revolution in the rice, tomato and poultry sub-sectors.

In a statement, Mr Odarteifio emphasised the critical need to inspire and galvanise the interest of the youth in agriculture by transforming agricultural colleges into competitive institutions capable of attracting top talent.

“This transformation will position agriculture as a viable and respected career path while utilising the economic enclave concept to close Ghana’s food production deficits in rice, tomatoes and poultry,” he stated.

Collaboration

The WFP is actively collaborating with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) on several impactful initiatives, including agroforestry carbon credit programmes, the provision of post-harvest equipment, Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA), cash-based transfers, agricultural college rebranding and capacitation, market access facilitation, input support, and technical and training support programmes.

Regarding agricultural colleges, the director stated: “We are committed to working with the government to make agricultural colleges more attractive to young graduates from senior high schools who often opt for other career paths.”

By strengthening the capacity of those institutions, he added, “we aim to produce well-trained, high-quality graduates who are equipped to address issues of food security and self-sufficiency”.

Mr Odarteifio highlighted reliance on imports staple foods, saying rice, tomatoes and chicken were at the heart of Ghanaian diets; yet the country imported close to 80 per cent of those staples — about $1.2 billion annually: $400 million for rice, $400 million for tomatoes, and $400 million for poultry.

“This dependence poses a severe threat to national security, especially in scenarios such as pandemics, where global supply chains are disrupted, and exporting countries prioritise their needs over ours. Prioritising self-sufficiency in these value chains is not just an economic necessity but a matter of national security,” he said.

Economic enclave approach

The director emphasised the economic enclave approach as a key strategy and called on the government to provide the necessary infrastructure to incentivise private sector investment.

“These enclaves should be transformed into high-production hubs for rice, tomatoes and poultry, significantly reducing the deficit and dependency on imports,” Mr Odarteifio stated.

He said the WFP remained committed to working closely with MoFA to ensure the sustainability of those initiatives to secure the country’s food future.