Peasant Farmers Urges Government to Allocate 10% of 2026 Budget to Agriculture

The Acting Executive Director of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), Bismark Owusu Nortey, has called on the government to allocate 10% of the 2026 budget to the agriculture sector.

The Finance Minister is scheduled to present the 2026 Budget Statement and Economic Policy to Parliament on 13 November 2025.

The ministry of Finance says a number of reforms are being implemented to improve quality and efficiency in public spending as well as rationalising expenditure to spur growth. This, according to the ministry, forms part of the broad agenda to contain public expenditure and bring public finances back on a sustainable path.

In an interview with ZED FM, ahead of the budget reading, Mr. Nortey underscored the importance of agriculture to the Ghanaian economy, stressing the need for greater investment in mechanisation centres, irrigation systems, and the marketing of agricultural produce.

“We need to see a lot of money coming to the agricultural sector. We hope that at least, 10 percent of the budget allocation will go to the sector. We are looking at investment in capital expenditure which include mechanisation projects, irrigation, machinery and other areas of the value chain”, he said.

Mr. Nortey also urged the government to provide clear timelines for the removal of taxes on agricultural equipment.

” In the previous budget statement, the minister talked about the removal of import tax on agricultural equipment, we are hoping to see some clear timelines in the budget. Farmers and agriculturalists cannot work without these equipment, and we are grateful for the government for scraping off the import taxes, but we want to know when that will take effect”, he stressed.

The Acting Executive Director PFAG also bemoaned the lack of market for agricultural produce, and has called on the government to allocate more resources to the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCOA) to be able to purchase the surplus for state entities. This, he believes, will curb the issues of food glut the country is currently experiencing.

” We have always had challenges with marketing in this country, and we are hoping the government will make provision for NAFCO to be able to purchase more from our farmers. This is one of the ways we can empower them and also reduce the incidence of food glut we are currently experiencing in the country,” Mr. Nortey emphasised.