Ghana’s Vice President, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang has urged global collaboration to transform agriculture and ensure food security, as she addressed the closing session of the 2025 Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue in Iowa.
Delivering the keynote address, she said Dr. Norman Borlaug’s conviction that no child should go to bed hungry must continue to serve as a moral compass for the world.
The Vice President highlighted agriculture’s central role in Ghana’s development agenda, noting that nearly two out of every five Ghanaians work in the sector, yet the country spends over USD 2 billion annually importing food it has the capacity to produce.
She outlined President John Dramani Mahama’s “Feed Ghana Programme” — a coordinated, market-driven plan targeting 22 commodity value chains — and the “Grow24 Programme,” a pillar of the 24-Hour Economy focused on modernizing agriculture, boosting agro-processing, and promoting export-ready agribusiness.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang also emphasized efforts to empower women and youth in agriculture through the Women’s Development Bank and investments in agritech, mechanization, and digital market platforms. She reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to adding value to its produce and leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to expand regional agro-exports.
She later joined African Development Bank President Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina for a fireside chat on Ghana’s agricultural strategy before helping present the 2025 World Food Prize to Brazilian agronomist Dr. Marieangela Hungria for her pioneering research on biological nitrogen fixation.
