Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Hon. Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, has pledged her Ministry’s full commitment to a new strategic partnership with the Ghana Prisons Service aimed at transforming the country’s prMison facilities into hubs for skills training, industrial productivity and agribusiness development.
This commitment was made when the Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, Mrs. Patience Baffoe Bonnie, paid a courtesy call on the Minister at her office in Accra to formally discuss areas of collaboration.
The high level meeting, which brought together directors and senior officials from both institutions, focused on strengthening inter-agency partnerships to support key priority projects and programmes designed to improve conditions within the prison system and enhance the welfare, reformation and rehabilitation of inmates.
Mrs. Baffoe Bonnie, who was recently appointed to lead the Service, outlined a bold vision for modernizing Ghana’s prisons beyond their traditional role as detention centres. She explained that the Service is seeking to reposition itself as a productive institution that contributes meaningfully to national development while equipping inmates with employable skills for life after incarceration.
According to the Director-General, the Prisons Service has vast tracts of arable land across the country, workshops and a large youthful inmate population that could be harnessed for national benefit if given the right technical and industrial support.
“We have the land, we have the labour, and we have the willingness to reform. What we need is the technical partnership, the industrial linkages and the agribusiness expertise that the Ministry of Trade can provide.”
Mrs. Bonnie
Mrs. Baffoe Bonnie stated that the Service is currently running farms in several prison establishments including Nsawam, Ankaful, Kumasi and Tamale, where inmates are engaged in crop farming, animal husbandry and vegetable cultivation. However, she said these initiatives remain largely subsistence due to lack of modern inputs, mechanization, and market access.
Prisons Service Seeks Agric Support for Innate Farms
Mrs. Baffoe Bonnie appealed to the Ministry to support the Service with improved seedlings, extension services, agro-processing equipment, and linkages to the government’s industrialization agenda.
She also called for support in revamping the Service’s technical workshops – including tailoring, carpentry, welding, shoemaking and kente weaving – to provide inmates with certified, industry-standard skills training.
In response, Hon. Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare welcomed the initiative and described it as timely and aligned with the government’s 24-hour economy and import substitution agenda. She assured the Director-General that her Ministry is ready to work closely with the Prisons Service to implement concrete and sustainable initiatives.
The Minister emphasized that President John Dramani Mahama’s government is committed to inclusive industrial development that leaves no institution behind, including the prison system. She said empowering inmates with productive skills is not only a human rights issue but also an economic imperative.
“We cannot talk about industrial transformation without including our brothers and sisters in the prison facilities. Skills training and agribusiness are at the heart of our mandate, and we will ensure that the Ghana Prisons Service benefits from our programmes.”
Hon. Ofosu-Adjare
Trade Ministry to Link Prisons Service to GEA, NEIP, GSA for Support
Hon. Ofosu-Adjare assured that her Ministry will facilitate linkages between the Prisons Service and key agencies under its purview, including the Ghana Enterprises Agency [GEA], the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme [NEIP], the Ghana Standards Authority [GSA] and the Rural Enterprises Programme.
These agencies, she said, will provide training, certification, start-up kits and business development support. On agribusiness, the Minister revealed that the Ministry is developing a new Agribusiness Industrial Hubs initiative that will support large-scale production.
She added that the processing of rice, maize, soya, poultry and vegetables is also part of the initiative, and added that the prison farms could be integrated as anchor production centres and out-grower support bases for these hubs.
The collaboration is also expected to cover garment production. Hon. Ofosu-Adjare noted that the Prisons Service’s tailoring workshops could be upgraded to produce uniforms for schools, security services and health workers, thereby reducing government expenditure on imported textiles and garments while providing inmates with income and skills.
A source at the meeting told this paper that a joint technical working committee will be set up in the coming weeks to develop a Memorandum of Understanding and an action plan for implementation.
The committee will be tasked with assessing all prison farms and workshops across the 47 prison establishments in the country and submitting a needs assessment report.
The meeting ended with both leaders expressing optimism that the partnership will create opportunities, build skills, restore dignity to inmates and contribute significantly to Ghana’s national development agenda.
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