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Ghana · Section 1 of 9

Overview

Agriculture produced 22.8% of Ghana's GDP at basic prices in 2025 on provisional GSS data, and 33.0% of employed persons worked in agriculture, forestry and fishing at the 2021 census. Cocoa and cocoa products (HS 18) made up 70.8% of agri-food exports of US$6.32 billion in 2025. Banks directed 4.3% of their outstanding credit to agriculture at the end of 2025, when the non-performing loan ratio of agricultural loans was 46.3%.

Agriculture share of GDP
22.8%
20251
Agricultural value added
24.3US$ bn
20252
Real agricultural growth
6.8%
20251
Employed in agriculture
33.0%
2021 census3
Cocoa producer price
42,400GH¢ per t
≈ US$3,770 per t4
2026/275
Bank loans to agriculture
4.81GH¢ bn
≈ US$460 m6
Dec 20257
Agriculture share of bank credit
4.3%
Dec 20257
Agri-food exports
6.32US$ bn
20258
1.1

At a glance

Agriculture produced more than a fifth of GDP in 2025 and employed a third of workers at the 2021 census. Agriculture generated GH¢305.1 billion of value added at current prices in 2025, 22.8% of GDP at basic prices, after real growth of 6.8%1. On World Bank data this was worth US$24.3 billion2. The 2021 census counted 3,296,995 persons employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing, 33.0% of the employed and 62.9% of the employed in rural areas3. The 2017/18 Census of Agriculture identified 2,568,146 agricultural households among 4,864,276 listed households, 52.8% (own calculation)9.

Production combines cocoa for export with food staples. COCOBOD's purchases (production in the 2020/21 report) ranged between 740,254 t (2014/15) and 1,047,385 t (2020/21) in the seasons for which annual reports are published1011. Cocoa's real value added fell by 21.5% in 2024 and grew by 14.4% in 20251. MoFA estimated maize production at 3.20 million t and cassava at 25.0 million t in 2021, the latest year it has published12. On FAOSTAT data Ghana was the second-largest yam producer and the third-largest cocoa bean producer in 2024 (own ranking), but none of these 2024 values is an official figure13.

Ghana was a net exporter of agri-food products in 2025. On UN Comtrade data Ghana exported US$6.32 billion of agri-food products in 2025 and imported US$2.90 billion8. Cocoa and cocoa products accounted for US$4.47 billion of exports and fruit and nuts (HS 08), 63.8% of them shipped to India (own calculation), for US$0.78 billion, while cereals (US$0.38 billion) and milling products (US$0.33 billion) led imports8.

Bank credit to agriculture relative to the sector's output. Banks held GH¢4.81 billion of credit to agriculture, forestry and fishing at the end of 2025, about US$460 million and 4.3% of their outstanding credit (own calculations)76. The non-performing loan ratio for agriculture was 46.3% in December 2025 and 60.9% in August 2026, against 15.7% for the banking industry in August 2026141516. The Bank of Ghana cut its policy rate from the 28.0% set in March 2025 to 14.0% in March 2026 and held it there on 24 September 20261718.

Cocoa finance moved from offshore loans to domestic funding in 2024–2026. From the 1992/93 season COCOBOD financed cocoa purchases with offshore syndicated loans backed by forward sales19. It adopted a self-financing model in 2024/25, and its subsidiary Cocoa Capital PLC launched a domestic notes programme of up to GH¢16.3 billion on the Ghana Stock Exchange on 14 October 2026, of which GH¢14 billion of commercial paper for 2026/27 purchases192021.

Out of every 100…
Agriculture's weight in households, jobs, output and credit
52.8
listed households were agricultural households (2017/18 Census of Agriculture)9
33
employed persons worked in agriculture, forestry and fishing (2021 census)3
22.8
cedis of GDP at basic prices came from agriculture (2025)1
4.3
cedis of outstanding bank credit went to agriculture (December 2025)7
US$4.47 bn
of cocoa and cocoa product exports (HS 18) in 20258
3.20 Mt
of maize estimated by MoFA for 2021, after 1.95 Mt in 201212
80.5 m
registered mobile money accounts at the end of 202522
GH¢1.85 bn
of agricultural loans guaranteed by GIRSAL over six years to July 202623
Agriculture's share of GDP
Agriculture value added, % of GDP at basic prices, current prices, 2013–2025
Source: GSS · World Bank WDI — GSS annual GDP, March 2026 edition, Table 1.2, 2013 base, 2024 revised and 2025 provisional. The World Bank series divides by GDP at purchasers' prices and shows 21.3% for 202524.
Agriculture's share of bank credit
% of total outstanding bank credit, end-December 2012–2025
Source: BoG — Own calculation, agriculture's credit divided by total outstanding credit (public and private) in the same Annual Report table. 2018 uses the revised values. The Statistical Bulletin gives other sector values and the unrevised 2018 total. The Monetary Policy Report gives 3.1% at end-August 2026, against 4.3% a year earlier15.
1.2

Key issues for agricultural finance

A large sector with a small share of bank credit

Agriculture produced 22.8% of GDP at basic prices in 2025 but received 4.3% of banks' outstanding credit at the end of the year17.

Agricultural loan quality weakened from December 2024 to August 2026

The non-performing loan ratio for agriculture was 38.0% in December 2024, 46.3% in December 2025 and 60.9% in August 2026, when agriculture was the one sector whose ratio rose year on year1415.

Cocoa finance in transition in 2024–2026

Offshore syndicated loans of US$1.13–1.8 billion a season financed cocoa purchases until 2023/24, a self-financing model followed in 2024/25, and a domestic notes programme of up to GH¢16.3 billion, of which GH¢14 billion of commercial paper for 2026/27 purchases, was launched in October 20263233192021.

After the 2022–2023 debt exchange

Holders tendered GH¢82.99 billion of domestic bonds, 84.91% of the eligible amount, in February 2023, and domestic credit to the private sector fell from 13.3% of GDP in 2022 to 7.9% in 20253435.

Interest rates eased in 2025–2026

The policy rate fell from the 28.0% set in March 2025 to 14.0% in March 2026, and the average lending rate from 24.15% in August 2025 to 15.94% in August 20261716.

Rain-fed farming exposed to dry spells

A dry spell hit maize and rice areas in June–August 2024, and country-average rainfall in March–July was 19% below the 1991–2020 average in 2024 and 25% below in 2025 (own calculations)3637.
Notes on the data. National accounts are GSS figures on the 2013 base from the annual GDP file of March 2026, with 2024 revised and 2025 provisional. Shares of GDP are at basic prices, so they are higher than the World Bank shares at purchasers' prices. The latest MoFA crop estimates are for 2021, and the latest COCOBOD annual report covers 2020/21. Bank credit by sector is from the Bank of Ghana Annual Reports (end-December). Trade by partner is UN Comtrade data reported by Ghana for 2025, and Ghana reported no data for 2020. Acts are cited from the printed copies in the Parliament of Ghana repository or from regulators' copies.

Sources cited on this page

  1. Rebased annual GDP 2013–2025, production approach, March 2026 edition (XLSX) — Ghana Statistical Service (GSS)verified
  2. World Development Indicators – Agriculture, forestry and fishing value added (current US$), NV.AGR.TOTL.CD (API, JSON) — World Bankverified
  3. 2021 Population and Housing Census, General Report Volume 3E, Economic Activity (PDF) — Ghana Statistical Service (GSS)verified
  4. Exchange Rate, Monthly Exchange Rates Indicators, inter-bank GH¢/US$ end period and month average (web page) — Bank of Ghana (BoG)verified
  5. Review of the producer price of cocoa for the 2026/27 cocoa season, 25 September 2026 (web page) — Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD)verified
  6. IMF, Exchange Rates (ER) dataset – Ghana, domestic currency per US$ (end of period and period average) — International Monetary Fund (IMF), Statistics Departmentverified
  7. 2025 Annual Report and Financial Statements (PDF) — Bank of Ghana (BoG)verified
  8. UN Comtrade – Ghana, agri-food trade (HS chapters 01–24) by partner, 2025 (public preview API, JSON) — United Nations Statistics Divisionverified
  9. 2017/18 Ghana Census of Agriculture, National Report (PDF) — Ghana Statistical Service (GSS)verified
  10. 46th Annual Report and Financial Statements 2014/2015 (PDF) — Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD)verified
  11. 52nd Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements, year ended 30 September 2021 (PDF) — Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD)verified
  12. Agriculture in Ghana: Facts & Figures 2021 (30th edition), September 2022 (PDF) — Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Statistics, Research and Information Directorate (SRID)verified
  13. FAOSTAT Production: Crops and livestock products, bulk download all countries (CSV, file of 31 December 2025) — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nationsverified
  14. Monetary Policy Report, January 2026 (PDF) — Bank of Ghana (BoG)verified
  15. Monetary Policy Report, September 2026 (PDF) — Bank of Ghana (BoG)verified
  16. Summary of Economic and Financial Data, September 2026 (PDF) — Bank of Ghana (BoG)verified
  17. Policy Rate, Historical Policy Rate Decisions (web page) — Bank of Ghana (BoG)verified
  18. Monetary Policy Committee Decision Statement, September 2026 (PDF) — Bank of Ghana (BoG)verified
  19. COCOBOD News, October–December 2024 (newsletter, PDF) — Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD)verified
  20. GHS 16.3 billion domestic cocoa notes programme to boost cocoa financing, 25 September 2026 (web page) — Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD)verified
  21. Cocoa Capital PLC undertakes a bond and note programme on the Ghana Stock Exchange, 14 October 2026 (web page) — Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD)verified
  22. FinTech Statistics, e-money monthly indicators (web page) — Bank of Ghana (BoG)verified
  23. GIRSAL holds 2026 Annual General Meeting, 23 July 2026 (web page) — Ghana Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (GIRSAL)verified
  24. World Development Indicators – Agriculture, forestry and fishing, value added (% of GDP), NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS (API, JSON) — World Bankverified
  25. Annual Report 2014 (PDF) — Bank of Ghana (BoG)verified
  26. Annual Report 2016 (PDF) — Bank of Ghana (BoG)verified
  27. Annual Report 2018 (PDF) — Bank of Ghana (BoG)verified
  28. Annual Report 2020 (PDF) — Bank of Ghana (BoG)verified
  29. Annual Report 2022 (PDF) — Bank of Ghana (BoG)verified
  30. 2023 Annual Report and Financial Statements (PDF) — Bank of Ghana (BoG)verified
  31. 2024 Annual Report and Financial Statements (PDF) — Bank of Ghana (BoG)verified
  32. 49th Annual Report and Financial Statements 2017/2018 (PDF) — Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD)verified
  33. 47th Annual Report and Financial Statements 2015/2016 (PDF) — Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD)verified
  34. Press release, Domestic Debt Exchange results with approximately 85% participation and new settlement date, 14 February 2023 (PDF) — Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ghanaverified
  35. World Development Indicators – Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP), FS.AST.PRVT.GD.ZS (API, JSON) — World Bankverified
  36. Project Paper, additional financing of US$125.0 million credit and US$0.94 million grant to Ghana, Food Systems Resilience Program Phase 2 (P178132), 8 April 2025 (PDF) — World Bankverified
  37. ERA5 reanalysis country-average monthly precipitation and temperature, Ghana, 1950–2025 (API, JSON) — World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portalverified
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AI-assisted content, human-reviewed: This page was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by a human editor. (last review: October 2026) Despite review, errors or outdated values may remain; please verify critical figures against the linked primary sources before relying on them. Nothing here is investment, legal or financial advice.
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