The government has announced plans to establish 100,000 hectares of new oil palm plantations as part of efforts to transform Ghana’s oil palm industry, create jobs and reduce the country’s reliance on imported palm oil.
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, said the initiative will go beyond expanding cultivation to focus on improving productivity, strengthening processing capacity and increasing incomes for farmers.
The government believes the intervention will position the oil palm sector as a major driver of job creation, industrial development and economic growth.
Speaking at a National Oil Palm Multi-Stakeholder Forum in Accra, Agriculture Minister Eric Opoku said the programme forms part of government’s broader strategy to move from agricultural policies to practical results.
He said oil palm is a strategic link between agriculture and industry, supporting farmers, processors, traders, transporters and manufacturers.
According to the Minister, Ghana’s demand for palm oil currently exceeds domestic production, forcing the country to rely on imports.
The Tree Crops Development Authority, TCDA, is expected to play a key role in coordinating the initiative through production planning, licensing, traceability and quality assurance.
Its Chief Executive, Dr Andy Osei Okrah, says the goal is to achieve palm oil self-sufficiency by 2032, while positioning Ghana as a competitive player in the global market.
“ Our second role is an active enabler, that is where our development capacity comes in. Coordinating planting promgrammes,facilitating access to certified seeds and seedlings and opening the sector for sustainable investments opportunities. We are here today not only to discuss or talk but to design a structured programme for concrete consensus and establish a clear execution plan on how to go about this and we also want to align our efforts to unlock the full potential of the sector as directed by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana”.
On his part, the Board Chairman of the Tree Crops Development Authority, Professor William Oduro said, “ We have few things here that TCD must do and we are going to do that. We must make sure that there are better planting materials and higher farms productivity. Encourage extension efficient aggregation ; Efficient traders, processors and value addition; We must make sure there’s access to affordable and long term financing.” He stated.
Recently , the leadership of the Tree Crops Development Authority, TCDA, led by the Chief Executive Officer Dr. Andy Osei Okrah, paid a courtesy visit to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Oil Palm Research Institute (CSIR-OPRI) to assess the institution’s operational readiness and capacity to support Government’s oil palm expansion agenda under the National Policy on Integrated Oil Palm Development (2026–2032).
The national policy was announced as part of the 2026 Budget.
eydenzjgodxqntyvnvytztkhokhlno