In a strange and interesting development, an unexpected controversy has erupted between the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and the Ministry of Finance over claims that GH¢1.6 billion has been released to support government agricultural programmes.
The said amount represents about 85% of MoFA’s 2026 budget allocation. But the Ministry of Agriculture is vehemently refuting the said claims propagated by the Deputy Minister for Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem.
A strongly worded statement issued by Samuel Huntor, the Media Liaison Officer at the Office of the Minister for Food and Agriculture, challenged the basis of the figure, insisting that official budget execution documents issued by the Ministry of Finance do not support the claim.
MoFA argues that the Ministry of Finance’s own records tell a different story. According to the statement, although the Finance Ministry issued a Commitment Authorization to MoFA on February 15, 2026, a subsequent First and Second Quarter Budget Allotment Letter dated February 19, 2026 imposed strict spending limits on the ministry.
Samuel Huntor claims that the allotment letter reportedly directed that MoFA’s expenditure for the first half of the year should not exceed GH¢910 million. More importantly, the accompanying expenditure schedule capped actual spending between January and June at approximately GH¢453 million, covering compensation, contract obligations and operational expenses.
MoFA further disclosed that allocations to several flagship agricultural interventions were significantly lower than the amount being publicly cited.
The MOFA quoted GH¢172.5 million for Farmer Service Centres, GH¢77.3 million for Fertiliser and Certified Seeds, GH¢36.7 million for the Nkokonkitinkiti Programme, GH¢30 million for the National Food Buffer Stock Company, GH¢26.25 million for irrigation infrastructure, and just GH¢4.5 million for the Feed Ghana Programme.
The ministry maintains that since the issuance of the allotment letter, it has not received any additional authorization from the Finance Ministry that would justify the claim that GH¢1.6 billion has been released.
“If the Ministry of Finance officially capped MOFA’s spending through its allotment system and has not issued any subsequent authorisation, where exactly is this GH¢1.6 billion figure coming from?,” Samuel Huntor questioned.
The Agriculture Ministry argued that public financial management is governed by official allotments, cash releases and budget availability, not public pronouncements.
He continued that, “Public financial management is governed by official allotments, cash releases, and actual budget availability—not by public relations narratives or propaganda. The Ghanaian people deserve transparency, accuracy, and honesty in the management of public finances, particularly in a sector as critical as agriculture and food security.”
The development has exposed what appears to be a significant discrepancy between public claims about agricultural funding and the actual expenditure ceilings contained in official budget documents.
With agriculture remaining central to the government’s food security agenda and economic transformation plans, the standoff is likely to intensify pressure on both ministries to provide a clear reconciliation of the figures and assure the public that budgetary allocations are being communicated transparently.
