The Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Agyare, has reaffirmed government’s commitment to strengthening Ghana’s agribusiness sector through policy reforms, fair competition, access to financing, and stronger enforcement mechanisms, following a high-level roundtable discussion with agribusiness captains and industry stakeholders.
The engagement, held at the Ministry, on Tuesday, February 10, brought together chief executives and representatives from across the agribusiness value chain, including rice, poultry, pineapple, maize, horticulture, processing, export, banking and input supply to deliberate on challenges confronting the sector and propose solutions to ensure sustainability, competitiveness and growth.
Opening the meeting, the Minister underscored the strategic importance of agribusiness to Ghana’s industrialisation agenda, explaining that the expansion of the Ministry’s mandate to include agribusiness reflects President John Dramani Mahama’s vision of positioning the sector as a key driver of economic transformation, job creation and food security.
Industry players welcomed the initiative but raised concerns over unfair competition arising from imports enjoying tax holidays, high cost of electricity, limited access to affordable financing, weak enforcement of import licensing regimes, rising insecurity on farmlands due to sand winning, poor infrastructure, and inconsistencies in taxation and policy implementation.
Several participants highlighted the impact of unregulated imports particularly in rice, poultry, soya and maize on local production, noting that imported products often enter the market at lower prices, undermining domestic manufacturers who bear higher production and tax costs. Others pointed to the accumulation of unsold local produce due to import surges, posing risks to farmer incomes and future investment.
In her response, the sector minister acknowledged the legitimacy of the concerns and emphasised the need for shared responsibility between government and industry, particularly in the area of financing.
According to her, the high cost of borrowing in the agribusiness sector is largely linked to poor loan repayment culture, stressing that sustained access to affordable financing depends on industry players honouring their loan obligations.
“If we want cheaper financing, we must make it affordable by paying back what we borrow. When banks see agribusiness as a sector that repays loans, they will lend more and at better rates,” she stated.
On taxation, the Minister noted that government is not opposed to engaging industry players ahead of introducing new tax measures, stressing the importance of predictability and consultation to enable businesses to plan effectively. She further argued that reasonable tax rates, rather than excessive levies, would improve compliance and ultimately increase government revenue.
“We want Made in Ghana to be synonymous with quality. When anyone anywhere in the world sees a Made in Ghana label, it should signal high standards,” she said, urging manufacturers to prioritise consistency and quality in production.
Addressing concerns about import licensing, particularly in the poultry sector, the Minister indicated that her Ministry would engage relevant agencies to review the current licensing framework to ensure it protects local industry without undermining regional and international obligations.
She also assured participants that issues such as sand winning and farmland insecurity would be escalated for targeted intervention in collaboration with the Ministries responsible for Lands, Natural
