By Edward Acquah, GNA
Accra, Aug. 18, GNA – Experts have urged Ghana to draw lessons from China’s agricultural transformation by sustaining investment and ensuring policy continuity.
They said Ghana should focus on the principles underpinning China’s agricultural development rather than simply replicating its technologies.
The experts made the observations at a Ghana-China Friendship Association (GHACHIFA) roundtable discussion in Accra on the theme: “The State of Agriculture in Ghana: Lessons from China’s Agricultural Transformation.”
The event formed part of activities marking the 65th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship between Ghana and China on August 18, 1961.
Participants also paid tribute to Mr Kojo Amoo-Gottfried, a distinguished Ghanaian diplomat and former President of GHACHIFA.
Mr Wu Jianrong, an agriculture engineer, said China’s agricultural transformation had been achieved through the sustained development of a complete agricultural system rather than a single technology, company or policy.
He said China had invested over the years in irrigation, roads, electricity, agricultural machinery, improved seeds, fertiliser, research, farmer training and agricultural markets.
Mr Wu said modern agriculture was not simply about producing more crops but involved
building a complete agricultural value chain.
He said Ghana should prioritise irrigation to reduce farmers’ dependence on rainfall and enable continuous production throughout the year.
Mr Wu called for expansion of agricultural mechanisation through machinery service centres, where farmers could pay for mechanised planting, crop protection and harvesting services instead of purchasing machinery individually.
He identified agro-processing, storage, cold-chain facilities and packaging as critical areas for investment to reduce post-harvest losses and create jobs, particularly for young people.
Mr Wu also advocated stronger technology transfer and skills development through the establishment of more China-Ghana agricultural demonstration farms and technical training centres.
Dr Abu Sakara, Development Agronomist, said the most important lesson Ghana could learn from China’s transformation was its “persistence and continuity of investment in a particular direction.”
He said Ghana had repeatedly introduced development plans and visions without sustaining their implementation, resulting in a lack of continuity in national development.
Dr Sakara said Ghana’s lessons from China should not centre on tractors or irrigation, but on persistence and continuity of investment in a particular direction.
He called for consecutive long-term development plans with clear targets that remained relevant across successive governments.
Dr Sakara identified high transaction costs, including the cost of finance, transportation and
storage, as major impediments to agricultural development and competitiveness.
He said high interest rates made it difficult for Ghanaian farmers and agricultural businesses to compete with producers in countries where financing was significantly cheaper.
Dr Sakara called for policies to reduce the cost of doing business in agriculture rather than simply providing subsidies or financial support to farmers.
Dr Ishmael Nii Dodoo, Chief Partnership Officer at the 24-Hour Economy Secretariat, said agriculture was central to the Government’s 24-hour economy programme and would serve as a basis for industrialisation.
He said the programme was focused on addressing structural constraints facing agriculture, including irrigation, energy, transportation, financing and access to markets.
Dr Dodoo said efforts were underway to develop agricultural corridors based on soil characteristics and production potential, with more than 600,000 hectares identified for commercial agricultural production.
He said the Government was also working to address energy costs, which he identified as a major constraint to the competitiveness of Ghanaian industries and agricultural processing.
Speakers stressed the need to integrate agriculture with finance, energy, transport, science and technology, land and manufacturing to reduce production costs and support value addition.
They said Ghana did not need to copy China’s development model wholesale, given differences in political systems, climate, land ownership and agricultural conditions, but could adapt the principles that had contributed to China’s transformation.
They identified sustained policy commitment, integrated planning, infrastructure development,
technology adoption and profitable agricultural enterprises as essential to making agriculture a stronger driver of Ghana’s economic transformation.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
18 Aug. 2026
Reporter: Edward Acquah
Pictures attached