The General Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU) says the transition in agriculture must be worker-centred, socially just, and climate-resilient.
To achieve this, Ghana must integrate just transition principles into the agricultural and climate policies, including the Food and Agriculture Sector Development Policy (FASDEP) and the National Climate Change Policy.
Mr Andy Tagoe, the General Secretary of GAWU, was speaking at an event to ensure a Just Transition in Ghana’s Agriculture Sector, Championing Policy Framework for Local Solutions in Accra.
The event was on the theme: “Ensuring a Just Transition in Ghana’s Agricultural Sector.”
He said there was a need to promote social dialogue, bringing government, unions, farmers, employers, and civil society together to plan the transition.
He said it was also important to invest in green skills, ensuring farmers and agricultural workers receive training in climate-smart and digital agriculture.
“Guarantee decent work and social protection for all agricultural workers,” he said.
Mr Tagoe said agriculture remained the backbone of Ghana’s economy because it was the lifeline for millions of rural households, providing food, income, and employment for the people, yet the agricultural sector stands at a crossroads.
He said the threats of climate change, land degradation, and erratic rainfall, coupled with technological changes and market uncertainties, were reshaping the future of farm work.
These changes call for transformation that must be just, fair, and inclusive.
The General-Secretary said a just transition meant that as “we move toward greener, more climate-resilient, and modernized agriculture, no farmer, no worker, and no community should be left behind.”
He said it was about ensuring that the move to sustainability did not create new forms of inequality or poverty.
“It is about placing people, workers, and communities at the heart of the change process,” he added.
He said across Ghana, climate change was affecting lives with farmers in the north struggling with drought and floods; Cocoa farmers in the forest zones facing changing rainfall patterns while women in smallholder farming continued to lack access to land, finance, and training.
He said agricultural workers often worked informally, without social protection or a voice at the table, and these were not abstract issues but real and urgent challenges.
He said GAWU was not against change; but that change must come with justice.
Mr Tagoe said GAWU would continue to advocate, educate, and organise workers to be part of the process, and they would engage employers and government to ensure that transition policies protect jobs, improve livelihoods, and respect workers’ rights.
“Our members are ready to embrace climate-smart farming, but we demand fairness, investment, and dialogue,” he added.
He called on stakeholders to choose a future that was green, fair, and inclusive and “Let us build an agricultural sector that is resilient to climate change, driven by innovation, but rooted in justice.”
The General Secretary urged stakeholders to ensure that every farmer and agricultural worker from the cocoa fields of Asankragwa to the vegetable farms of Ada had a dignified place in the transition.
Together, through social dialogue, solidarity, and shared responsibility, we can ensure that Ghana’s journey toward sustainability becomes a journey of hope, justice, and prosperity for all, he added.
By Morkporkpor Anku