Stakeholders in agriculture and engineering have called on Government to strengthen policy and institutional support for local agro-industrial innovations to boost productivity and job creation.
They said expanding support for locally developed agro-processing technologies would improve access to equipment, reduce post-harvest losses and drive industrialisation.
The call was made on the sidelines of the Ghana AgroTech Fair 2026 in Accra, organised by the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry in collaboration with the Ghana Export-Import Bank.
Mr Patrick Quansah, Director of Engineering at the Gratis Foundation, said the institution had developed agro-processing equipment to enhance efficiency along the agricultural value chain.
He said the machines helped reduce time, labour and energy use, thereby increasing productivity for agro-processors.
Mr Quansah noted that about 60 to 70 percent of the components were locally produced, making the machines more affordable for small and medium-scale enterprises.
He said equipment such as maize and soya bean threshers, shea nut crushers and fruit juice extractors had received positive feedback from users.
Mr Quansah, however, identified limited access to food-grade stainless steel as a major challenge, as it had to be imported, increasing production costs.
He called for policies to promote Made-in-Ghana machinery and support local manufacturing institutions to scale up production.
Meanwhile, agricultural drone technology was also highlighted as a key innovation at the event.
Mr Dan Mensah, Senior Technician in charge of drones at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Learning Centre, said drones could significantly improve farming efficiency.
He said the technology enabled farmers to cover large areas quickly, making agriculture more attractive, especially to the youth.
Mr Mensah added that the university was partnering with Agri-Impact Limited to train young people in drone technology and digital agribusiness skills.
