EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Agriculture Investment Guide has been developed in alignment with the Food and Agriculture Sector Development Policy (FASDEP II). The Guide has been developed with strong emphasis on attracting accelerated investment into the sector to increase productivity, growth and transformation and to create jobs, increase incomes, and ensure food security over the medium to long term.
Agriculture has been the principal sector for the development and growth of Ghana’s economy over the years. The contribution of agriculture to GDP in the five-year period spanning 2010 to 2015 has declined from 29.8% to 20.3%. It still remains a major contributor to the economy, providing employment to 44.7% of the total workforce (GLSS6, 2014). For instance, FDI inflows between 2008 and 2016 into agriculture sector recorded was US$1.3 billion (GIPC, 2016).
Improving Ghana’s agribusiness sector would lead to higher incomes and more jobs. Attracting private participation in the sector allows Ghana to compete globally. Such agribusiness development path paves the way for economic growth, structural transformation and improved technical skills which in turn can catalyze economic activities and connect major sectors in the Ghanaian economy.
Modernized agriculture, increased productivity and transformation of the agricultural sector remains a policy goal as well as promoting and enhancing investment into the sector. Furtherance to this, MoFA established the Agribusiness Unit (ABU) in 2012 with the role of facilitating investment into agriculture and providing technical support to agribusinesses. The Agribusiness Unit of MoFA collaborates closely with the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC) and Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP) in this endeavor.
This Agriculture Investment Guide has been developed to serve as a reference document for information on institutions, regulations and policies relevant to the agricultural sector. It outlines incentives available to investors in the agriculture sector and provides information on the various procedures required to successfully establish agricultural investments. It is to ensure that investments are in alignment with national policies and regulations as well as help interested investors in making informed investment decisions.
Government’s flagship program “Planting for Food and Jobs” and other MoFA projects such as the Ghana Commercial Agricultural Project (GCAP) are among some of the interventions the Ministry is implementing to increase private investment into the sector.
The Agriculture Investment Guide has nine chapters which cover areas of general information on; policies and sub-sector policies prevailing in the agriculture sector; agricultural infrastructure in the sector including irrigation facilities, pack houses, warehouses, cold terminals and other infrastructure and logistics ; laws and regulations governing the agriculture sector and their requirement relating to agriculture investment; labor market situation, structure and disaggregated agriculture labor and demographics; land acquisition process and registration for agricultural use and the institutions responsible; financing schemes for agriculture in Ghana; Investment laws and regulations relating to agriculture; various incentives for investing in agriculture and processes of registering and establishing agricultural firms and businesses.
This Guide addresses the information challenge that investors could encounter in establishing agribusinesses and also provides the opportunities and incentives available and outlines policies and regulations for investors to harness and take cognizance of.