The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has said that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is demanding the return of some 27,000 tons of food supplies borrowed by Ghana in 2018.
According to the minister, he has pleaded with ECOWAS for a one-year grace period to raise the credited food items for repayment.
“Recently, leaders from ECOWAS came to our office. They said Ghana owes them rice and maize of about 27,000 tons, which we borrowed in 2018, and that they are asking that we refund it,” he disclosed during the launch of the government’s Feed Ghana Programme on Saturday, April 12, 2025, at Techiman.
“Mr. President, I have, in your name, pleaded that once we commence the Feed Ghana initiative, we will come and repay the loan in one year’s time,” he added.
He described the programme as a game-changing initiative aimed at steering Ghana toward food sufficiency and urged every citizen to get on board and eschew politicisation of the policy.
The Feed Ghana policy is a flagship initiative by the John Dramani Mahama government aimed at modernising agriculture, boosting food security, and supporting Ghana’s economic transformation.
Speaking at the event on Saturday, President Mahama said the initiative is a critical component of his broader Agriculture for Economic Transformation Agenda (AETA), which is designed to create jobs, reduce food inflation, and improve livelihoods through sustainable agricultural practices.
ECOWAS demands 27,000 tons of maize and rice that the government of Ghana borrowed in 2018 – Agric Minister reveals pic.twitter.com/PmAeIBw6Fu
— Mahama 2024 president (@CitizenTechiman) April 12, 2025
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
