The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has urged a national reorientation of Ghana’s agricultural priorities, warning that the country’s overreliance on food imports undermines economic stability and compromises true national independence.
Speaking at Channel One TV‘s AgriFair at the Efua Sutherland Park in Accra on Saturday June 21, the minister stated that food security is fundamental to Ghana’s development, stressing, “We all understand that a hungry man is not a free man.
“So for us to free our people and give them absolute freedom, we need to produce food in abundance to feed the people of Ghana.”
According to Mr. Opoku, Ghana currently spends over $2 billion annually on food imports — a figure he described as economically unsustainable and paradoxical given the country’s rich agricultural resources.
“As we speak we import a lot of food into Ghana. Our food import is estimated above $2billion annually and so every year we throw away $2 billion to the foreign market to go and buy food to supplement local production. So clearly our agricultural landscape is a paradox which must be looked at critically.”
The minister pointed out that Ghana has all the essentials for agricultural success: abundant land, water resources, affordable labour, and access to regional markets through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
These factors, he said, place Ghana in a strong position to turn agriculture into a major driver of economic growth.
“Nature has bestowed on us a lot of agricultural potential… We have what it takes to use agriculture to engender economic growth,” Mr. Opoku stated.
The AgriFair 2025 is powered by Channel One TV with support from 97.3 Citi FM and it is proudly sponsored by the Ghana Exim Bank, Legacy Crop Improvement Centre, Development Bank Ghana, Agri-Impact Limited, the Horticulture Business Platform and Twellium Ghana Ltd., Technology partner; Farmerline. —Citifmonline.com
