Ato Forson outlines plan to create 500,000 jobs through new oil palm policy

Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has announced that Ghana will soon unveil a comprehensive Oil Palm Plantation Policy aimed at creating over 500,000 jobs across the agricultural value chain.

He said the policy, which forms part of the 2026 Budget, seeks to transform agriculture into a major driver of job creation, industrialisation, and economic growth.

Dr. Forson made this known in a post on X after what he described as a “highly productive meeting” with the Regional Vice President for Africa at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Ethiopis Tafara. The discussions focused on deepening partnerships to advance Ghana’s development priorities, particularly in the agricultural sector.

“We explored opportunities to deepen our partnership in support of Ghana’s development priorities, especially in the agriculture sector,” he wrote.

The Finance Minister said the government is finalising the Oil Palm Plantation Policy as part of a broader national strategy to develop economic crops. “With the right investment and partnerships, we believe Ghana can create over 500,000 jobs across the value chain — from cultivation and processing to manufacturing and exports,” he stated.

He explained that the government’s approach will focus on attracting both domestic and foreign investors to build large-scale, sustainable agricultural enterprises capable of supporting agro-industrial development.

“The potential is enormous,” Dr. Forson said. “Such large-scale agricultural transformation requires patient capital, and we are therefore working closely with the World Bank, IFC, and other development partners to mobilise financing and catalyse private sector participation.”

He noted that the initiative aligns with Ghana’s broader ambition to make agriculture the cornerstone of inclusive growth. “Ghana is ready to move,” he declared. “Together with our partners, we will harness the power of agriculture to deliver inclusive growth, create jobs, and place economic crops at the heart of our nation’s transformation agenda.”

The upcoming Oil Palm Policy is expected to be a key feature of the 2026 Budget, signalling the government’s renewed focus on value addition, sustainability, and job creation in agriculture.

Dr. Forson led a high-level government delegation to Washington, D.C., for the 2025 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group.

The week-long meetings, which ran from October 13 to 18, 2025, brought together finance ministers, central bank governors, development partners, and global investors to deliberate on global economic priorities and strategies for sustainable growth.

Dr. Forson was accompanied by the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson Asiama, along with senior officials from the Ministry of Finance and the central bank.

The delegation was engaged in several high-profile sessions, including bilateral meetings with IMF and World Bank management, investor briefings, ministerial dialogues, and the sovereign debt roundtable.

The annual meetings come at a critical time for Ghana’s economy, following a series of encouraging developments under its IMF-supported reform programme.

Recently, Ghana reached a Staff-Level Agreement at the Fifth Review of the IMF Extended Credit Facility (ECF). Once approved by the IMF Executive Board, this is expected to unlock an additional US$385 million to support Ghana’s fiscal and structural reforms.