Ghana’s agricultural sector is being held back by a chronic lack of political commitment and a tendency toward performative policy-making, according to Prof. Roger Kanton, a leading agricultural research scientist. In a sharp critique delivered Wednesday May 7, during a discussion on the review of President John Mahama’s first 120 days in office, Kanton argued that successive governments have relied more on slogans than substance, leaving the country vulnerable to persistent food insecurity.
“Our challenge with agriculture is purely commitment. Agriculture is not rocket science. We have to do it right to turn things around. The thing is, we have done it before,” Kanton said, referencing periods in Ghana’s past when domestic production was more stable.
Kanton acknowledged headline programmes rolled out under both current and past administrations, including the ongoing ‘Feed Ghana Programme, and the former Planting for Food and Jobs and Rearing for Food and Jobs initiatives’. But he asserted these efforts have failed to deliver measurable impact, instead serving largely as political branding exercises.
“So, why are we not getting things properly? There is a lot of sloganeering, rhetoric, and advocacy, but agriculture doesn’t like noise. It is not like gender issues and anti-corruption, you focus on producing, you don’t make noise there, and get the job done,” he said.
His comments come amid rising food inflation and intensifying concerns over Ghana’s agricultural resilience. Despite decades of investment in the cocoa sector, Kanton warned that staple food crops, essential to household consumption and price stability, have been neglected in policy and budgetary focus.
“If you ask Ghanaians to prioritise agriculture, we have been doing it year after year, but cocoa has not even got to number 50, but cocoa is given such special attention. Cocoa’s attention is so high above the other crops. But who eats cocoa for food?” he asked, hitting at the misalignment between production incentives and domestic dietary needs.
Kanton expressed particular frustration over the disconnect between the availability of scientific expertise and the country’s continued reliance on food imports and foreign assistance.
“We have the structures, we have one of the best scientists in agriculture who are Ghanaians. If you don’t produce what you eat, who should produce for you to eat?” he questioned.
While sharply critical of agricultural leadership, Kanton offered praise for President Mahama’s newly introduced “reviewable social contract,” describing it as a “groundbreaking initiative” in public accountability. The contract, still in its early stages, commits the administration to time-bound deliverables and regular assessments, a model Kanton suggested could hold promise for overhauling dysfunctional sectors, including agriculture.
His remarks add to growing scrutiny of Ghana’s food policy framework, as calls mount for structural reforms that go beyond flagship campaigns and toward sustained, technocratic execution. With global food markets facing renewed instability and climate shocks disrupting regional supply chains, Ghana’s long-standing struggle with self-sufficiency is again in the spotlight.
