Agric Minister urges coordinated measures to reset Ghana's oil palm industry

Eric Opoku, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, called for coordinated measures to reset Ghana's oil palm industry on Wednesday when the Tree Crop Development Authority (TCDA) convened the 2026 National Palm Stakeholders Forum in Accra. He stated that the country needed to move beyond policies and targets to practical action that would raise productivity, strengthen smallholder participation, expand processing, and ensure sustainable development of the sector. Mr. Opoku said, "Policy acquires value only when it changes lives."

Mr. Opoku noted that Ghana's annual demand for palm oil substantially exceeded domestic supply, resulting in a production deficit largely met through imports. He stated that this gap represented lost jobs, underutilised processing capacity, unreliable markets for farmers, and foreign exchange that could otherwise remain in the economy. The government's 2026 budget target is to establish 100,000 hectares of new oil palm plantations, which is part of efforts to build an integrated, sustainable, and competitive industry. The program will also focus on rehabilitating aging and low-yielding farms.