Minority warns of crisis in farming and fishing sectors

The Minority in Parliament has warned that Ghana’s agricultural and fisheries sectors are on the brink of collapse due to what it describes as widespread neglect, broken promises and policy failures by the current administration.

In a statement issued on December 5, 2025, it said the 2025 celebration must be “a day for deep national reflection rather than ceremony.”

It stressed that farmers and fishers are facing some of the gravest challenges in the country’s recent history.

According to the Minority, the agricultural crisis has worsened to the point where over one million metric tons of rice valued at GH¢5 billion remain unsold across northern Ghana, despite a government assurance in September that the National Food Buffer Stock Company would purchase all locally produced rice and maize.

“Smuggled rice, often repackaged by politically connected importers, floods the market and makes it impossible for Ghanaian farmers and fishers to compete. The appreciation of the cedi and declining world grain prices have made imports cheaper, while local producers are left with unsold stock,” it stated.

The Minority further accused the government of abandoning fishing communities, citing the crippling premix fuel shortages that have left fishing boats docked, especially in Keta.

“A government that cannot ensure the reliable distribution of something as basic as premix fuel has failed in its most fundamental duty,” the statement said.

It said frustration among farmers has reached unprecedented levels, recalling protests in Tamale where farmer groups marched with placards demanding answers from the administration.

“For the first time in our recent history, key professional farmer associations have endorsed a symbolic boycott of national celebrations over the Government’s failure to purchase their produce.

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“They marched through Tamale with placards asking, ‘The government promised to buy every grain. Where are you?” This unprecedented action reflects a tipping point in agricultural despair, a sentiment deeply shared by our abandoned fishing communities”, it noted.

The Minority also touched on the cocoa sector, noting that it faces its own existential threats as illegal mining continues to devastate farms and water bodies.

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“30,000 hectares of cocoa farms have, according to COCOBOD, been lost to illegal mining. Entire communities face land degradation, poisoned water, and collapsing livelihoods.

“Some farmers have been forced to abandon cocoa altogether, switching to rice, palm fruit, and livestock to survive”, it said.

Minority demanded immediate government action to purchase unsold grain stock, restore premix fuel supply, curb smuggling, tackle illegal mining and fishing, and invest in irrigation, cold chains, landing sites, storage and agro-processing infrastructure.

It emphasised that Ghana’s food producers deserve more than annual praise.

“They deserve leadership that listens, values and protects them,” the statement said, adding that modernisation of the sector, including AI-driven agriculture, is now a necessity rather than an option.

It also reaffirmed its support to farmers and fishers across the country.

Read the full statement below:

JKB/EB

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