The government has launched the Ghana Agricultural Fund for Educational Transformation to strengthen agricultural education and build the human capital needed to address post-harvest losses, improve agrifood systems and enhance national food security.
The initiative is premised on the recognition that the transformation of Ghana’s agricultural sector depends largely on the quality of human resources available to operate, maintain and improve agricultural systems and technologies.
Its ultimate goal was to equip generations of Ghanaians with the knowledge and practical skills required to increase food production, transform the economy and secure Ghana’s food future.
Through the leadership of President John Dramani Mahama, the government has identified investment in agricultural education as a national priority, placing agriculture at the centre of Ghana’s economic transformation agenda under the Feed Ghana Initiative.
Speaking at the launch in Accra on Wednesday, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Eric Opoku said the Fund would support agricultural colleges, universities, technical institutions, research centres and other institutions responsible for training professionals for the sector.
He said the initiative constituted a key human-capital pillar of the government’s Feed Ghana Programme, stressing that sustainable agricultural transformation depended on skilled engineers, extension officers, researchers, technicians, entrepreneurs and agribusiness professionals.
According to the Minister, the Fund would help address infrastructure and capacity gaps in agricultural education by supporting laboratories, workshops, demonstration farms, modern machinery, digital learning tools, research and scholarships.
He announced ambitious targets to grow the Fund from its current seed funding of GH¢3.5 million to GH¢10 million by December 2026 and GH¢100 million by 2028.
Mr Opoku commended five Ghanaian agribusinesses—Grow For Me, AgriSolve, Farmerline, Newage Agric Solutions and Tradeline Consult—for contributing to the initial seed funding.
He said the Fund would operate under a governance framework involving a Governing Board, an independent technical administration, a Securities and Exchange Commission-licensed fund manager, a custodian bank and an independent external auditor to ensure transparency and accountability.
The Minister also called on banks, pension funds, insurance companies, agribusinesses, development partners, philanthropic organisations, alumni associations and individuals to contribute to the initiative.
He urged stakeholders to support specific interventions, including laboratories, workshops, demonstration farms, agricultural machinery, digital tools, applied research, scholarships and internships.
Mr Opoku said the government’s long-term ambition was to establish the Fund as a permanent statutory institution under the policy oversight of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
