Jasaw defends GH¢1.5 Billion Agricultural budget amid concerns

The Chairman of Parliament’s Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee, Godfred Seidu Jasaw, has defended the government’s GH¢1.5 billion allocation to the agricultural sector in the 2025 budget. He believes that, despite concerns over its adequacy, the budget presents strategic opportunities to strengthen the sector.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday, March 19, the Wa East legislator acknowledged that the allocation is lower than in previous years. However, he emphasized that the focus should be on building agricultural infrastructure to ensure long-term growth and sustainability.

Jasaw also encouraged public participation in efforts to improve the sector, highlighting the importance of efficient management and targeted investments to maximize impact.

On the other hand, Daniel Fahene Acquaye, Chief Executive Officer of Agri-Impact Limited, expressed concerns that the GH¢1.5 billion budget falls short of addressing the sector’s urgent needs. He stressed the importance of increasing funding for key areas such as mechanization, irrigation, productivity, and food security. According to him, without additional investment, the sector may struggle to achieve substantial progress.

In response, Jasaw argued that the priority should be making the best use of the allocated resources rather than solely focusing on the size of the budget. He emphasized the role of strategic investments and partnerships with the private sector in driving agricultural growth.

“There is a limited resource envelope that the Minister of Finance can allocate to all the competing sectors, and now what is the status of allocations in history to the sector? The [Government of Ghana] GoG component is the GH¢1.5 billion, and if you look at that, it appears to be smaller compared to what we witnessed in the 2024 budget. But if you go to the analysis of it, you will appreciate why this one is likely to have better value because the investments in the last allocation had GH¢700 million for Planting for Food and Jobs, and the rest of it went into compensation,” Jasaw explained.

While acknowledging that the allocation is relatively low, he insisted that the key focus should be on how sector managers utilize the available funds. “Frankly, I see the allocation quite low, but as I said, what we need to do is how the Minister and the managers of the sector are going to turn around the goodwill, court investors, define our priorities in infrastructure for agriculture to be able to turn around the opportunities that the sector presents now,” he added.

Source: dailymailgh.com