Ghana to Cut $2.2 Billion Bill With Farm Support, President Says

Agriculture to assist industrialization, increase trade
Ghana imports more than two-thirds of staple foods: FAO

President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana speaks at the Bloomberg Africa Business Media Innovators conference in Accra.(Source: Bloomberg)

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By Moses Mozart Dzawu and Ekow Dontoh

November 13, 2017 at 12:24 PM UTC

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Ghana has a target of supporting one million farmers in the next four years with plans to invest in agriculture as the West African nation seeks to increase trade and cut its reliance on food imports that cost about $2.2 billion annually.

While Ghana is the world’s second-biggest cocoa producer, it imports more than two-thirds of the staples such as wheat and rice that it needs, according to the United Nations’s Food and Agriculture Organization. The promotion of agriculture is a key policy of the 11-month old government of President Nana Akufo-Addo, who also pledged to support the building of factories in each of Ghana’s 216 districts.