Experts have urged Ghana to draw lessons from China’s agricultural transformation by sustaining long-term investment, ensuring policy continuity and building an integrated agricultural system.
They said Ghana should focus on the principles that underpinned China’s agricultural development rather than attempting to replicate its technologies or development model wholesale.
The experts made the call at a Ghana-China Friendship Association (GHACHIFA) roundtable discussion in Accra on the theme: “The State of Agriculture in Ghana: Lessons from China’s Agricultural Transformation.”
The event formed part of activities marking the 65th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship between Ghana and China on August 18, 1961.
Participants also paid tribute to Mr Kojo Amoo-Gottfried, a distinguished Ghanaian diplomat and former President of GHACHIFA.
Mr Wu Jianrong, an agriculture engineer, said China’s agricultural transformation had been achieved through sustained development of a comprehensive agricultural system rather than reliance on a single technology, company or policy.
He said China had over the years invested in irrigation, roads, electricity, agricultural machinery, improved seeds, fertiliser, research, farmer training and agricultural markets.
Mr Wu said modern agriculture was not simply about increasing crop production but required the development of an integrated value chain.
He urged Ghana to prioritise irrigation to reduce farmers’ dependence on rainfall and support year-round production.
He also called for increased agricultural mechanisation through machinery service centres, where farmers could pay for mechanised planting, crop protection and harvesting services rather than purchasing expensive machinery individually.
Mr Wu identified agro-processing, storage, cold-chain facilities and packaging as critical areas requiring investment to reduce post-harvest losses, improve value addition and create employment, particularly for young people.
He further advocated stronger technology transfer and skills development through the establishment of more China-Ghana agricultural demonstration farms and technical training centres.
Dr Abu Sakara, a Development Agronomist, said the most important lesson Ghana could draw from China was its persistence and continuity of investment in a particular direction.
He said Ghana had repeatedly introduced development plans and national visions without sustaining their implementation, resulting in limited continuity in national development.
“Ghana’s lessons from China should not centre on tractors or irrigation, but on persistence and continuity of investment in a particular direction,” he said.
Dr Sakara called for successive long-term development plans with clear targets that remained relevant across different governments.
He also identified high transaction costs, including the cost of finance, transportation and storage, as major constraints to agricultural development and competitiveness.
He said high interest rates made it difficult for Ghanaian farmers and agribusinesses to compete with producers in countries where financing was significantly cheaper.
Dr Sakara called for policies that reduced the overall cost of doing business in agriculture rather than relying mainly on subsidies or financial support to farmers.
Dr Ishmael Nii Dodoo, Chief Partnership Officer at the 24-Hour Economy Secretariat, said agriculture was central to the Government’s 24-hour economy programme and would provide a foundation for industrialisation.
He said the programme sought to address structural constraints affecting agriculture, including irrigation, energy, transportation, financing and access to markets.
Dr Dodoo said efforts were underway to develop agricultural corridors based on soil characteristics and production potential, with more than 600,000 hectares identified for commercial agricultural production.
He said the Government was also working to reduce energy costs, which he described as a major constraint to the competitiveness of Ghanaian industries and agro-processing businesses.
The speakers stressed the need to integrate agriculture with finance, energy, transport, science and technology, land and manufacturing to reduce production costs and promote value addition.
They said Ghana did not need to copy China’s development model wholesale, given differences in political systems, climate, land ownership and agricultural conditions.
Instead, they urged the country to adapt the principles that had contributed to China’s agricultural transformation, particularly sustained policy commitment, integrated planning, infrastructure development, technology adoption and the development of profitable agricultural enterprises.
They said such an approach would enable agriculture to become a stronger driver of Ghana’s economic transformation and create more jobs and opportunities across the value chain.
