Anthony Morrison, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana (CAG), has sounded a clarion call for a radical shift in how national agricultural policies are funded and executed at the local level – warning that the nation’s most ambitious flagship programs – including the Feed Ghana Programme (FGP), the 24-Hour Economy Policy, and the establishment of Land Banks – are currently under threat.
Speaking on the critical role of decentralized agriculture, Mr. Morrison asserted that while policy design at the center remains robust, the chronic neglect of district-level agricultural services is creating a systemic implementation failure that compromises food security and rural transformation.
“The disregard for decentralized agriculture weakens growth at the local and the national levels. The sector’s challenge is not only about policy design at the centre, but also risks implementation failure if financing is inadequate at the local level.
“DCEs, faced with multiple competing demands – roads, classrooms, markets, sanitation, and administrative costs – often deprioritize agriculture, not because it is unimportant but because it has no legally protected fiscal space within the decentralized financing system”
Anthony Morrison, Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana CEO
The crux of the issue, according to the Chamber, lies in a fundamental fiscal flaw within the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) framework. While the DACF serves as the primary source of discretionary funding for Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs), it lacks a statutory or protected allocation specifically for agriculture.
This omission forces District Chief Executives (DCEs) to weigh agricultural needs against competing demands such as roads, sanitation, and school infrastructure. Without a legally ring-fenced budget, agriculture is frequently deprioritized, leaving local departments paralyzed.
The lack of dedicated funding has led to a visible deterioration of service delivery in rural areas. Mr. Morrison pointed out that many district departments of agriculture currently lack the basic logistics required to support farmers effectively.
Without functional vehicles or motorbikes, extension officers are increasingly “office-bound,” unable to conduct the field visits, demonstrations, and training sessions essential for boosting productivity. This gap in extension delivery not only stifles innovation among smallholder farmers but also leaves them more vulnerable to climate shocks and pests.
The Chamber’s boss argued that if agriculture is truly recognized as the engine of local economic growth, it cannot be treated as a secondary concern in district financing.
The current “wait-and-see” approach to rural agribusiness development is, in Mr. Morrison’s view, a recipe for stagnation. To fix this, CAG is proposing concrete reforms that would mandate MMDAs to allocate “a minimum percentage of their DACF receipts directly to agricultural value chain development and post-harvest management.”
Call for Institutional Reform
Beyond fiscal changes, the Chamber advocated for a more ambitious institutional overhaul: the creation of a Ghana Agriculture and Agribusiness Service (GAAS).
“Modeled after the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ghana Health Service (GHS), GAAS would operate under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture but provide a dedicated, decentralized home for service delivery.
“This structure would ensure that agricultural staff have predictable funding, standardized logistics, and clear career progression, rather than being left to the whims of shifting district priorities”
Anthony Morrison, Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana CEO
Mr. Morrison also emphasized the need for stronger accountability mechanisms, suggesting that agricultural performance indicators be integrated into the official assessments of District Chief Executives. By making agricultural growth a key metric for local leadership success, the government can ensure that policies designed in Accra actually yield fruit in the districts.
For the Chamber, if the country’s interest is about decentralization and local economic development, then agriculture should not be treated as an afterthought in district financing. District composite budgets should include clear agricultural budget lines, and agricultural performance indicators should be included in MMDA and District Chief Executive assessments.
The Chamber’s leadership noted that concrete reforms are urgently needed to ensure that national goals are not compromised.
The Chamber’s position is that the success of the youth employment agenda and the broader goal of agribusiness development hinges on these reforms. Without a statutory minimum allocation for agriculture, the rural economy will continue to struggle with post-harvest losses and low mechanization levels.
Mr. Morrison concluded that local economic development is only possible when the sector closest to the people – agriculture – is given the fiscal respect it deserves.
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