Ghana has spoken for years about transforming agriculture. Governments have launched programmes, distributed inputs, promoted mechanisation and promised to make farming more attractive, particularly to the youth.
Yet one fundamental issue has often received less attention: who is being trained to drive the transformation?
That is why the launch of the GH¢100 million Ghana Agriculture Fund for Education and Transformation (GAFET) by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Eric Opoku, deserves careful consideration.
The fund is intended to support skills development, innovation, mechanisation and agricultural enterprise, while investing in institutions that train agricultural engineers, researchers, agribusiness leaders and entrepreneurs.
This is an important intervention because agricultural transformation is not simply about tractors, irrigation systems, improved seeds or financing.
It is also about people with the knowledge and practical skills to design, operate, maintain and improve those systems.
As Mr Opoku aptly put it, “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.”
For too long, the country has treated agricultural education as an appendage to agricultural development rather than as one of its foundations.
The result is a persistent gap between what is taught in classrooms and what farmers and agribusinesses actually require.
It is worrying that, as the Co-Coordinator of GAFET, Mr Steven Nhyira Odarteifio, pointed out, many agricultural graduates complete their programmes without sufficient hands-on experience in operating machinery, managing demonstration farms, repairing equipment or working with modern irrigation systems.
If Ghana wants young people to see agriculture as a modern and profitable business, then agricultural institutions must themselves reflect modern agriculture. Laboratories cannot remain poorly equipped.
Workshops cannot operate with obsolete machinery. Demonstration farms cannot be neglected. Digital technology and modern irrigation systems must become part of practical training.
The proposed support for 21 beneficiary institutions in laboratories, workshops, demonstration farms, machinery, research, digital learning tools, scholarships, internships and industrial attachments is therefore encouraging.
But the real test of GAFET will not be its launch. It will be what happens after the ceremony.
An initial GH¢3.5 million has reportedly been mobilised by five agribusinesses, with targets of GH¢10 million by December 2026 and GH¢100 million by December 2028.
These are ambitious targets and will require sustained confidence from businesses, development partners, financial institutions, alumni associations and other contributors.
The proposed structure, involving a governing board, independent fund administrator, licensed fund manager, custodian bank and independent external auditor, is a good starting point. But structures on paper must translate into real transparency and accountability.
Contributors and the public must be able to see where the money goes, which institutions benefit, what projects are funded and what measurable outcomes are achieved.
There must be no room for political patronage, duplication of existing programmes or expenditure that does not improve agricultural education and practical training.
The fund must also be protected from becoming another short-lived initiative that loses momentum when political priorities change.
Agricultural transformation is a long-term undertaking. The institutions that train agricultural professionals cannot be rebuilt in one budget cycle, and the benefits of investment in research, skills and practical training may take years to become fully visible.
For that reason, GAFET must be designed and managed as a genuine national endowment rather than simply another government project.
The private sector, too, has a responsibility. Agribusinesses cannot complain about the shortage of skilled workers and then leave the training of those workers entirely to government. Companies that depend on agriculture should see GAFET as an investment in the future of their own businesses.
The government’s Feed Ghana Programme seeks to increase food production, modernise farming, expand irrigation and mechanisation, promote agro-processing, reduce dependence on food imports, boost exports and create sustainable jobs.
Those objectives are laudable. But they will remain difficult to achieve if Ghana continues to underinvest in the people and institutions that must make them happen.
The Ghanaian Times urges the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the managers of the fund to make transparency, measurable results and professional management the foundation of the initiative.
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