Ghana Hosts Agriculture Modernization Conference to Drive Africa’s Agribusiness Transformation
Leading policymakers, academics, and industry experts converged at the Agriculture Modernization Conference held at the Accra City Hotel on Thursday, 20th November 2025, under the theme “Innovative Agricultural Transformation and Sustainable Growth in Africa.”
The event spotlighted the urgent need for modern, youth-led agribusiness systems to address food insecurity, climate change, and youth unemployment while boosting industrialization across the continent.
Delivering the keynote address, the Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry Hon. Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, emphasized Ghana’s strategic commitment to transforming agriculture into a driver of economic growth.
She highlighted the 2026 national budget allocations, including GH¢245 million for the Feed Ghana programme and GH¢200 million to the Ghana Buffer Stock Company, aimed at enhancing food security, reducing post-harvest losses, and curbing over US$2.5 billion in annual food imports, particularly rice, poultry, and processed foods.
“Transforming agriculture is not only about feeding people; it is about shaping Africa’s economic destiny,” she said, noting that sustainable growth requires linking farms to factories and markets while promoting agro-processing, certification, and industrial expansion.
The Minister also underscored the role of Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones, technological innovation including mechanization, climate-smart practices, digital platforms, and cold-chain systems and strong academia-industry partnerships in driving transformation.
Dr. Forster Boateng, in his address, framed Ghana’s efforts within a continental vision. He noted Africa’s vast agricultural potential, with 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, yet $97 billion in food imports from 2021–2023. Africa’s youth, he said, must be central to transformation, turning farming from a last-resort activity into a profitable, tech-driven enterprise.
Dr. Boateng outlined six strategic fronts for rapid agricultural transformation:
• Transition from subsistence to market-driven agribusiness, linking farms to factories, logistics, and trade.
• Scale modern technologies such as drones, precision agriculture, and digital marketplaces.
• Implement coherent, investment-friendly policies, following examples like Morocco’s Green Morocco Plan.
• Promote multi-stakeholder collaboration, aligning governments, private sector, farmers, and development partners.
• Empower youth as agripreneurs, citing Ghana’s E-HAPPY program under the Mastercard Foundation.
• Translate continental vision into national action to leverage AfCFTA for regional trade.
“Now is the moment. Let’s turn vision into action and make agriculture Africa’s next success story,” he said.
The conference concluded with a call for all stakeholders, governments, private sector, financial institutions, development partners, academia, and youth to collaborate in building competitive, resilient, and sustainable agricultural value chains.
Participants agreed that, with innovation, investment, and coordinated policy action, Africa can feed itself, power industries, create jobs, and emerge as a global leader in agribusiness.
