The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has appealed for support towards the Ghana Agriculture Fund for Education and Transformation (GAFET) to strengthen agricultural education, skills development and secure national food security.
The Fund, begins with seed funding of GHS3.5 million and aims to mobilise GHS100 million by the end of 2028.
Mr Eric Opoku, Minister of Food and Agriculture, made the appeal to businesses, development partners and the public at the launch of the Fund in Accra on Tuesday.
The Fund is a component of the Government’s Feed Ghana Programme and has been established as a national endowment to finance skills development, innovation, mechanisation and agricultural enterprise.
Data from the Ministry showed that agriculture contributes about 22 per cent of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but only two per cent of tertiary students enrol in agriculture-related programmes.
The Ministry also estimated that agricultural education institutions face an annual funding gap of about GHS12 million.
Mr Opoku said achieving the objectives of the Feed Ghana Programme depended on developing a skilled workforce capable of modernising the agriculture sector.
“Before we can sustainably feed Ghana, we must equip Ghana. Before we transform our farms, we must strengthen the institutions that prepare the people who transform those farms,” he said.
Mr Opoku said GAFET would support agricultural colleges, universities, technical institutions, research centres and other strategic institutions through investments in laboratories, workshops, demonstration farms, modern machinery and digital learning tools.
The Fund would also finance scholarships, research and industry-responsive curricula to strengthen the practical and technical capabilities of agricultural students and professionals, he said.
Mr Opoku said although the Government remained committed to supporting agricultural education, the scale of the funding requirement called for broader national collaboration.
He appealed to commercial banks, pension funds, insurance companies, agribusinesses, development partners, philanthropic organisations, alumni associations and individuals to contribute to the initiative.
“Government must lead, but society must build,” Mr Opoku said, adding that national development could only be sustained through strong public-private partnerships.
Mr Opoku said the Government would commit part of its budgetary allocation to the Fund and work towards establishing it as a permanent statutory institution under the policy oversight of the Ministry.
He said the immediate target was to increase the Fund to GHS10 million by December 2026 before reaching the GHS100 million target by 2028.
Mr Opoku urged Ghanaians to support the initiative by funding scholarships, research, mechanisation, demonstration farms and other interventions aimed at developing the next generation of agricultural professionals.
Mr Steven Odarteifio, Lead Coordinator of GAFET, said the initiative sought to establish a sustainable financing mechanism to transform agricultural education and equip graduates with practical skills to improve productivity and strengthen Ghana’s agricultural value chains.
He expressed optimism that sustained support from the Government, private sector and development partners would enable the Fund to become a lasting national institution for advancing agricultural transformation.
By Edward Acquah, GNA