The government has announced an ambitious three-year programme to construct 1,000 kilometers of agricultural enclave roads, a major initiative aimed at addressing one of the core drivers of food inflation—poor road networks linking food-producing communities to markets.
The programme, financed through support from the World Bank, was unveiled by Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, during the presentation of the 2026 Budget Statement in Parliament.
Dr. Ato Forson explained that the government had identified deteriorated feeder roads in agricultural zones as a central factor behind rising food prices. The lack of reliable access routes, he said, increases transportation costs, causes significant post-harvest losses, and impedes the smooth movement of produce from farm gates to market centres.
“The Government has identified one of the major causes of food inflation to be bad roads linking food-producing enclaves to markets,” he stated. In response, the 1,000-kilometer Agricultural Enclave Roads Programme will be implemented by the Department of Feeder Roads under the Ministry of Roads and Highways.
According to the Minister, the selection of the roads will be deliberate and strategic, focusing strictly on agriculturally productive enclaves across the country. “The roads will be carefully selected to food-producing enclaves only,” he emphasized, noting that the intention is to create a direct and measurable impact on food security by improving market access.
The project is expected to reduce transport costs, ease post-harvest losses, and enable farmers to secure better prices while ensuring a more stable supply of food commodities nationwide.
Flagship Investment Agenda
Dr. Ato Forson described the project as an integral component of the government’s broader Big Push Infrastructure Programme, a flagship investment agenda aimed at transforming Ghana’s infrastructure landscape.
He told Parliament that the programme is not merely a development effort but a far-reaching national vision. “The Big Push Infrastructure Programme is more than a construction drive; it is a nation-building vision,” he said.
The Finance Minister highlighted that the Big Push is designed to generate thousands of jobs and support domestic industry growth through local contractor participation and strong connections to agro-processing, manufacturing, and construction sectors.
By investing heavily in infrastructure that serves multiple economic linkages, the government hopes to create a cycle of productivity that extends well beyond the roads themselves.
“It will create thousands of jobs, empower local contractors, and strengthen linkages with domestic industries in agro-processing, manufacturing, and construction”.
Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson
Dr. Ato Forson underscored that the vision behind the enclave roads programme aligns with the government’s broader agenda of shared national growth. He noted that infrastructure development should not be concentrated in only a few major cities but distributed across the country in a way that lifts rural communities, promotes inclusive growth, and opens new economic opportunities.
Infrastructure as a Catalyst for Long-term Transformation
He added that the government views infrastructure as a catalyst for long-term transformation, a belief he insisted was already being demonstrated through the implementation of the Big Push.
“Through the Big Push, we are proving that Ghana can build its way into prosperity, one road, one bridge at a time,” he declared. Dr. Ato Forson emphasised that Ghana’s renewed focus on infrastructure marks an important era in the country’s development journey.
“This is Ghana’s era of infrastructure. Ghana will not only build to recover, but build to transform,” he asserted. The Agricultural Enclave Roads Programme is expected to address structural constraints in the agriculture sector, which have long undermined national food security.
High transport costs, particularly in rural food baskets such as the Bono, Bono East, Northern, Savannah, Upper East, and Volta regions, contribute to market inefficiencies that make food costlier in urban centres.
By targeting food-producing corridors directly, the government hopes the new roads will shorten travel times, reduce spoilage, and make agricultural transportation more efficient.
Economists have often pointed to the condition of feeder roads as a make-or-break factor in Ghana’s efforts to stabilise food prices, especially during periods of high inflation. With the World Bank providing financial backing, the 1,000-kilometre project is expected to serve as both an economic stabiliser and a development accelerator.
Agriculture remains one of Ghana’s most critical sectors, employing a significant proportion of the population and serving as a major contributor to national GDP. The government’s emphasis on feeder roads demonstrates a broader recognition that infrastructure is central to improving productivity and competitiveness within the sector.
As Parliament considers the broader framework of the 2026 Budget, the enclave roads programme stands out as a direct intervention linking infrastructure investment to inflation control and food security enhancement.
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