Farmers Demand 10% of 2027 Budget for Agriculture, Call Current Allocations "Non-Negotiable" Minimum

Agriculture sector stakeholders are pressing the government to allocate at least 10 percent of the 2027 national budget to agriculture, arguing that persistent underfunding has constrained efforts to improve food security and that single-digit allocations in previous budgets have failed to provide the resources needed to address longstanding challenges across the sector.

The demand comes ahead of the presentation of the 2027 Budget Statement and Economic Policy. Agriculture received an estimated GH¢13.9 billion in the 2026 Budget, representing an increase of GH¢1.5 billion over the previous year's allocation, but farmers insist more investment is needed to close the sector's funding gaps .

A Two-Decade-Old Commitment, Still Unmet

At the heart of the demand is Ghana's failure to honour its commitment under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), the African Union framework adopted in Maputo in 2003 that calls on member states to allocate at least 10 percent of national budgets to agriculture. Bismark Nortey, Executive Director of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, told Citi Business News that Ghana has been a signatory since 2003 but has yet to consistently meet the target.

"The minimum that we expect Ghana to do is the 10%. For us, it is non-negotiable," Nortey said . He described the current allocation trajectory as inadequate for meaningful investment in a sector that contributes roughly 22 percent of GDP, 24 percent of export earnings, and employs around 38 percent of the workforce .

The 10 percent target was reaffirmed in the Kampala Declaration adopted at the AU's extraordinary summit in January 2025, which extended the commitment through 2035 with a broader focus on agrifood systems rather than agricultural production alone. Nortey, who attended the summit, noted that Ghana currently spends less than two percent of its national budget on agriculture .

The "New Economy" Test

Nortey is also urging the government to translate its New Economy Agenda into increased public investment in agriculture, arguing that the sector must receive a significant share of the resources earmarked for the initiative given its potential to stimulate broader economic growth.

"I have heard that the government is considering what they call the new economy. And our expectation is that agriculture should take a chunk of that new economy," he said. "In fact, if allocations to that new economy, in terms of financial allocation, anything less than 50% of that allocation not going to the sector is dead on arrival. Because you need the sector to stimulate the kind of growth that we want" .

Poultry Farmers Target Storage and Feed Costs

Separately, poultry farmers are calling for increased investment in storage infrastructure for agricultural commodities, particularly maize, to help reduce feed production costs. Inadequate storage capacity contributes to supply constraints and high feed prices, which remain among the biggest cost components for poultry producers—feed accounts for nearly 70 percent of total production costs .

Mohammed Ali, Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Accra Poultry Farmers Association, said improving local production and storage, alongside guaranteed markets for maize and soybean farmers, would strengthen the poultry value chain. Reliable off-take arrangements would give local producers the confidence to increase production while ensuring a more dependable supply of raw materials for feed millers.

"When we can do it locally and do it cheaply and abundantly, we can have a very good chat," Ali said. "The local producer of the soya and maize, what they are expecting from us as a feed miller, when we talk to them about that, when there's a guarantee, any time we produce, there's an off-taker. That reduces their burden" .

Ali has previously warned that the lack of coordination between the agriculture and trade sectors has made it difficult for farmers to access affordable raw materials, and that government interventions such as the Nkoko Nkitinkiti initiative alone cannot transform the sector without addressing structural feed cost challenges .

What the 2026 Budget Promised

The government's 2026 Budget outlined several interventions to boost agricultural production and strengthen food security, including the construction of 50 Farmer Service Centres, a GH¢200 million allocation to the National Food Buffer Stock Company, the installation of 200 solar-powered boreholes, and the rehabilitation of livestock stations . However, stakeholders say funding constraints and delays in releasing approved allocations continue to undermine the implementation and impact of these interventions.

The stakeholders say higher budgetary allocations, backed by timely releases of approved funds, will be critical to improving agricultural productivity, expanding local food production, and easing food costs for consumers.