• Ghana obtained a $9.5 million grant from South Korea to finance a five-year agro-industry value-chain project.

• The project will fund processing centres, training programs and market-access systems in the Central and Volta regions.

•  Ghana loses an estimated $1.9 billion annually to post-harvest losses, including 18% of maize output in 2022.

Ghana’s government secured a $9.5 million grant from South Korea to support a five-year agricultural value-chain programme in the Central and Volta regions. Officials announced the funding after the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) signed a memorandum of understanding on 18 November.

Agriculture contributes 20% of Ghana’s GDP and employs 35% of the national workforce, which positions the sector at the centre of the country’s economic strategy. Consequently, authorities continue to rely on bilateral financing to improve agro-industrial resilience.

The project, titled “Strengthening the Agro-Industry Value Chain for Local Economic Development,” aims to expand agro-processing capacity and improve market systems. According to the NDPC, the grant will finance the construction of agricultural processing centres, capacity-building programmes for farmers, extension officers and SMEs, and the development of more efficient marketing channels.

“Strengthening agro-food value chains is essential to increase productivity, reduce post-harvest losses and enhance food and nutrition security… This partnership represents an integrated development model centred on agro-industry that will benefit farmers, local businesses and communities across the country,” the NDPC stated in an official release.

The agreement comes weeks after the government reaffirmed its intention to exempt taxes on imported agro-processing machinery to stimulate private investment in the sector. Authorities expect the new fiscal incentives to complement the Korean-funded initiative and accelerate the expansion of local processing capacity.

The government prioritizes post-harvest loss reduction because these losses cost the country roughly $1.9 billion annually, according to official data. The African Post-Harvest Losses Information System (APHLIS) reports that post-harvest losses affected 18% of maize production in the Central and Volta regions in 2022.

This article was initially published in French by Stéphanas Assocle

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum