SONA 2026: "Gov't has intensified agricultural transformation under Feed Ghana program" - Prez. Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has highlighted a series of transformative initiatives under the Feed Ghana Program, aimed at boosting food security, modernizing agriculture, and creating jobs for youth across the country.

He made these remarks during the 2026 State of the Nation Address delivered in Parliament on Friday.

A central feature of the program is the Home Gardening Initiative, encouraging families nationwide to cultivate vegetables at home and in their communities to reduce food costs, improve nutrition, and increase local food availability.

The government is also transitioning agriculture from rain-fed dependence to irrigation-based farming to ensure year-round production and strengthen climate resilience.

Key infrastructure interventions underway include the construction of two new mega dams, rehabilitation of eight existing irrigation dams, and development of two 50-store platform wells and boreholes for farming communities and schools in the northern belt and Brong-Ahafo regions.

Major irrigation schemes — including Ghia, Weta, Tamoso, Gong, Ashaiman, and Avehime — are undergoing rehabilitation, and a new inland valley covering over 1,300 hectares is being developed to expand rice production.

Through the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, a $20 million agro-input distribution project is supporting 50,000 farming households — including 30,000 women and youth — across 12 districts in six regions.

The project promotes staple production, year-round vegetable cultivation through solar-powered micro-irrigation, backyard and commercial poultry production, and distribution of fertilizer and certified seeds.

The government is also modernizing agricultural services, with procurement processes underway for 660 tractors, 400 combine harvesters, and other equipment.

Construction of 11 farmers’ service centers will begin this year, providing smallholder farmers access to mechanization, storage, inputs, extension services, and equipment leasing. The first center will be launched in the Apram Plain in the coming weeks.

To strengthen extension services, 540 motorbikes have been procured to improve coverage, with 100 already distributed.

Additionally, 400 district coordinators and 10,000 young Ghanaians enrolled in a four-year national service Agripreneur program are supporting frontline service delivery, with 3,000 youths already absorbed into permanent employment.

The program also prioritizes farmer cooperatives, with 70,000 commodity-focused cooperatives established nationwide as of October 2025.

These cooperatives serve as platforms for accessing inputs, mechanization, climate advisories, aggregation, and fair market negotiations.

President Mahama further highlighted agro-industrial initiatives, including the $154 million Ghana-Italy Irrigated Commercial Farming Project, a 10,000-hectare model farm producing rice, maize, soy, and tomatoes for local markets.

Other interventions include rice processing facilities in the Upper East and Upper West regions, poultry feed plants in Ashanti, cashew and onion processing facilities in Bono East, and a 40-ton-per-day soy processing plant in northern Ghana.

The shea industry is also being revived with secure export contracts to support soybean farmers and reduce feed costs.

“These interventions are strategic,” the President stated, “designed to fast-track progress towards food security, create jobs, stabilize prices, and reduce Ghana’s dependence on food imports.”

Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith