"Feed the industry program to strengthen Ghana’s agribusiness" – Trade Minister

The Minister for Trade, Agribusiness, and Industry, Hon. Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, has unveiled the Feed the Industry program, a key initiative aimed at strengthening Ghana’s agribusiness sector and promoting value addition across the country’s commodity chains.

Addressing Day 2 of the 2026 Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD) at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) on Thursday, 5th February, 2026, Hon. Ofosu-Adjare emphasized that the program seeks to address raw material supply challenges by ensuring a sustainable flow of quality inputs to Ghanaian industries.

"These efforts are intended to create jobs, increase incomes, and strengthen economic resilience,” she said.

The Minister stressed the significant role of women and youth in Ghana’s economy, noting that nearly half of all MSMEs in the country are led by women, while Africa’s youth population represents an unparalleled source of innovation and productivity.

“Empowering these groups is an economic imperative,” she said.

Under the Feed the Industry initiative, the Ministry is actively facilitating stronger linkages between agriculture and industry, addressing underutilized processing capacity, and promoting higher value addition for commodities such as cocoa, shea nuts, cashew, and honey.

The program is part of Ghana’s broader industrial strategy, which prioritizes technological adoption, export readiness, and innovation to enhance competitiveness.

Since the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in 2021, Ghana has integrated women and youth-led enterprises into regional trade and industrial value chains.

Hon. Ofosu-Adjare reported that over 2,800 businesses have been sensitized on export procedures and market access, while more than 155,000 entrepreneurs have received skills training, and over 6,000 startup kits have been distributed to MSMEs.

The Ministry has also activated grants and financing mechanisms under the Ghana Economic Transformation Project, backed by the World Bank, to support enterprise upgrading, industrial growth, and private investment excellence.

“Women-led enterprises across Ghana are already transforming local resources into high-quality branded exports that generate employment, elevate incomes, and enhance resilience,” the Minister said.

Hon. Ofosu-Adjare also outlined four key priorities to maximize the program’s impact: full operationalization of AfCFTA, investment in digital infrastructure and logistics, innovative financing for women and youth-led enterprises, and strengthened public-private partnerships to scale regional value chains.

“This is an opportunity to invest in women and youth-led SMEs, prioritize value addition in agribusiness, and collaborate across borders to build a single African market where sustainable prosperity, job creation, and structural transformation are driven by our own people,” she said.

Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith and Hawa Abubakar