A high-level stakeholder meeting was held between the Minister for Food and Agriculture of the Republic of Ghana, Hon. Eric Opoku, and a delegation from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The discussion focused on advancing joint initiatives to enhance agricultural productivity, climate resilience, and food security within local and refugee communities in Ghana.
The meeting aligned with the Government of Ghana’s flagship Feed Ghana Program, aiming to integrate sustainable practices and inclusive development strategies across the agricultural sector.
The meeting also focused on the promotion of sustainable and adaptive farming methods that empower both local communities and displaced populations through the employment of environmentally friendly approaches to enhance resilience to climate change and improve agricultural yields.
Targeted interventions were proposed to integrate both refugees and host communities into local agricultural value chains. These interventions would align with the Feed Ghana Program to ensure inclusive development, economic empowerment, and food self-sufficiency.
Agribusiness Development: Poultry, Vegetable Farming & Irrigation Training
To further boost income and improve food security, support will be provided to establish poultry and vegetable farms. In addition, capacity building in modern irrigation techniques is to be offered to local farmers, cooperatives, and refugee groups to achieve all year-round agricultural production.
Hon. Eric Opoku bemoaned the urgent challenge of food insufficiency in Ghana, noting that the country currently imports over $3 billion worth of food annually. Despite Ghana’s fertile land and natural resources, domestic food production remains insufficient to meet national needs.
He highlighted a stark contrast on the African continent:
“Africa holds over 60% of the world's agricultural resources but contributes only 3% to global agricultural production. “This is unacceptable and must change.” He said
He reiterated that H.E. President John Dramani Mahama, the President of Ghana launched the Feed Ghana Program, as a strategic initiative aimed at increasing food production, reducing imports, and making agriculture a vehicle for economic growth.
Key actions under the program include:
Nationwide sensitization campaigns to encourage greater public participation in agriculture.
Promotion of agricultural initiatives within public institutions, including schools and government agencies.
Currently, over 150 schools across the country are actively engaged in farming.
Deployment of monitoring teams to ensure effective, sustainable, and scalable farming nationwide.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture remains committed to transforming Ghana's agricultural sector through inclusive, climate-resilient, and production-focused policies. The collaboration with UNHCR and other partners marks a significant step towards leveraging agriculture to address both humanitarian needs and national development goals.
All stakeholders including public institutions, private sector actors, civil society organizations, development partners, and citizens are urged to support and participate in this national agenda to Feed Ghana and build a food-secure future.
On his part, Abdouraouf G. Konde, UNHCR regional director for West and Central Africa, lauded Ghana’s role in promoting peace and security in the sub region. He bemoaned the increase number of refugees in Africa citing the situation in Chad where one of every three persons is a refugee as a threat to regional economic security.
He insisted that peace and security remain the best panacea to curb the increasing number of refugees in the regions and called for broader collaborative measures to reduce the number of refugees in Africa in particular.