Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has said Ghana must move away from peasant farming and embrace commercial agriculture to increase food production and reduce the country’s dependence on imports.

Speaking on JoyNews after presenting the 2027 Budget to Parliament on Thursday, November 12, 2026, Dr Forson said the country’s current approach to farming was inadequate to meet its food needs.

“The current agriculture, peasant agriculture, cannot solve the problems,” he stated.

The minister explained that Ghana had enough land, water resources and a youthful population to support large-scale farming and produce much of the food it currently imports.

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He expressed concern that Ghana spends about US$3.5 billion annually on food imports, describing the situation as unsustainable.

“We spend about 3.5 billion United States dollars yearly to bring foodstuffs into our country. It cannot continue,” he said.

Dr Forson cited chicken imports, which cost the country about US$200 million annually, and questioned why Ghana could not produce enough maize and soybean to support its poultry industry.

He also raised concerns about the country’s dependence on imported fish, onions and tomatoes, despite having the resources to produce them locally.

The minister identified Pwalugu as an area with the potential to support large-scale vegetable production and reduce Ghana’s dependence on imports from neighbouring countries.

“All we need to do is modernise agriculture,” he stressed.

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As part of efforts to transform the agricultural sector, the government plans to invest in commercial farming and agribusiness, targeting the production of rice, sugar, oil palm, poultry, maize, soybean, aquaculture products and vegetables.

DR/MA

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