Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has said that the government, via the Development Bank Ghana (DBG), would spend GHS 50 million in the agriculture sector as part of a larger effort to restore Ghana’s economy to pre-COVID-19 levels.
“Mr. Speaker, the government has launched a GH500 million special loan programme: the DBG Emergency Economic Programme (DEEP) to help firms in the agriculture value chain over the next five years via the Development Bank Ghana (DBG).” “The main areas for investments to assist establish economic resilience are poultry, grains and cereals, pharmaceutical production, tourism, textiles and garments,” he added.
He said this at his presentation of the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy to Parliament on Thursday, November 24, 2022.
According to the 2020 Population and Housing Census, more than three million Ghanaians aged 15 and above work in agriculture, farming staple crops, tree crops, and forest trees, as well as aquaculture and traditional fishing.
The agriculture sector’s contribution to GDP has climbed from an average of 2.8 percent during the four-year period ending in 2016 to a four-year average of 5.8 percent in 2020.
The industry provided 8.4 percent of the value of products and services generated in the nation last year.
The minister stated that since this is the backbone of the Ghanaian economy, the government must devote sufficient resources to it.
He stated that the government has had many successes in the sector over the years, most notably through the implementation of flagship programs such as Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) and Rearing for Food and Jobs (RFJ), and that the government will continue to roll out more interventions in the sector to boost food production and create jobs for young people interested in agriculture.
He urged farmers to take advantage of the initiative in order to increase their agricultural revenue and enhance their level of life.