The General Agricultural Workers’ Union (GAWU) has advocated for the creation of a Ghana Agriculture Service to drive reforms and oversee the execution of national policies aimed at transforming the sector.
“The time for the Ghana Agriculture Service is now, so that they can make their decisions and monitor them at their levels,” Dr Pascal Kaba, the Deputy General Secretary of GAWU said.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Dr. Kaba noted that the absence of the Agriculture Service hindered the efficient delivery of services to farmers and other stakeholders in the value chain.
He said that establishing the service would proactively address challenges in production, processing, storage, and marketing, thereby increasing productivity and enhancing the sector’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reports that agriculture provides over 90 per cent of the country’s food needs, 40 per cent of export earnings, and employs about 52 per cent of the labor force.
The World Bank also notes that the sector is a key livelihood source for Ghana’s poorest households, with two-thirds of non-oil manufacturing relying on agriculture for raw materials.
However, in recent years, agriculture’s contribution to GDP has been declining, with data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) showing a 0.6 per cent contribution in GDP for agriculture, compared to 3.4 per cent from Industry and Services in the third quarter of 2024.
Dr. Kaba emphasised that the establishment of the Ghana Agriculture Service could ensure proper allocation, timely delivery, and effective management of resources in the sector, while fostering collaboration between state actors and private sector players.
He also expressed concern over the lack of autonomy among many public sector workers in the agricultural space, noting that the creation of the Service would grant the necessary independence to enhance sector performance.
“We cannot continue to say agric is the backbone of the economy, yet we do not have a Service for it like we have the Ghana Health Service and Ghana Education Service.
“The establishment of a service for the sector will help to avoid individuals who work in the sector being undermined by local government authorities, which prevents them from doing the things that would bring us the result we need for the sector,” he said.
The newly appointed sector Minister, Mr. Eric Opoku, has unveiled government initiatives aimed at revitalizing the agricultural sector, including the ‘Feed Ghana’ and ‘Feed the Industry’ programmes.
These initiatives are designed to address challenges within the agricultural value chain, boost crop yields, ensure domestic food security, and foster industrial growth.
“We want to establish a strong relationship between agriculture and industry, a symbiotic relationship in nature, so that as agriculture provides the raw materials, industry would be adding value, and in so doing, we will generate a lot of jobs and increase productivity,” Mr. Opoku said last Monday.
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