Ghana’s Minister of Food and Agriculture Eric Opoku has held bilateral discussions with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General Qu Dongyu in Rome, using the meeting to advance cooperation on the government’s flagship Feed Ghana Programme and to reaffirm Ghana’s strategic partnership with the global food agency.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 44th Session of the FAO Ministerial Conference at FAO Headquarters in Rome. The Director-General congratulated Minister Opoku on his appointment and acknowledged the longstanding relationship between FAO and Ghana, particularly the country’s role as host of the FAO Regional Office for Africa. Qu Dongyu reaffirmed FAO’s commitment to strengthening that regional office to make it more efficient and responsive to the needs of member countries across the continent.
The Rome engagement forms part of a broader international push by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFAD) to secure partnerships and investment for Ghana’s agricultural transformation agenda. Minister Opoku also participated in a global policy dialogue under Italy’s Mattei Plan, a forum convened in collaboration with the World Bank Group and Banca d’Italia focused on job creation and economic development in Africa.
Back home, the minister has been implementing a series of structural reforms under the Agriculture for Economic Transformation Agenda (AETA), including a policy that from 2026, only locally produced seeds will be distributed to Ghanaian farmers to end reliance on imported seed supply. The ministry has also prioritised soil laboratory rehabilitation, nationwide soil testing, irrigation expansion through 10 new dams and 250 solar-powered boreholes, and the formation of 70,000 community cooperatives to improve farmer access to markets and value chains.
Ghana is simultaneously courting foreign investment for large-scale agricultural industrialisation. The government’s Integrated Oil Palm Development Programme, covering the period 2026 to 2032, targets the development of 100,000 hectares of plantations, the creation of 250,000 jobs, and a reduction in palm oil imports by US$200 million annually.
Minister Opoku said the government’s priority remains increasing agricultural productivity and expanding market access for Ghanaian farmers, positioning agriculture as a central driver of the country’s economic recovery and export growth strategy under President John Dramani Mahama.
