First 11 Farmer service centres to be operational by October

By Prince Antwi June 22, 2026

The first batch of 11 Farmer Service Centres (FSCs) being established under the Government’s flagship Feed Ghana Programme is expected to be completed and operational by October 2026, according to the Coordinator of the FSC Initiative, Peter Nuhu.

The centres, currently under construction in selected agricultural districts across the country, are intended to provide farmers with access to mechanisation services, agricultural inputs, extension support, financial services, market linkages, capacity-building opportunities and climate-smart agricultural solutions.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the ninth Agricultural Students Career Guidance and Mentorship Dialogue Bootcamp (Ag-Stud Africa Bootcamp 2026) in Accra, Mr. Nuhu said preparations were progressing steadily.

“We are currently in construction. We are looking at the first set coming up around October. The President has tasked us to commission about 11 of them by October,” he stated.

The Ag-Stud Africa Bootcamp, organised by the Agrihouse Foundation and its partners, brought together students from 18 agricultural colleges and universities across all 16 regions of Ghana to discuss strategies for sustaining the Feed Ghana Programme and the Farmer Service Centres initiative.

The FSCs form a key component of the Feed Ghana Programme being implemented by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA). The initiative is designed to improve access to mechanisation, farm inputs, extension services, storage facilities and market opportunities, particularly for smallholder farmers.

Mr. Nuhu noted that government had strategically selected major food-producing districts for the first phase of the project. Areas such as Afram Plains, West Gonja, Savelugu and Ejura are among the locations expected to host the initial centres.

He further disclosed that more than 1.2 million farmers have been registered under the Feed Ghana Programme through community-based commodity cooperatives established nationwide.

According to him, the cooperative model was adopted to improve accountability, sustainability and efficient service delivery.

“We realised that working through cooperatives provides a more sustainable approach. These farmers have been organised into commodity-based groups within their communities and will be among the first beneficiaries of services from the centres when they become operational,” he explained.

Addressing the issue of youth participation in agriculture, Mr. Nuhu highlighted the challenge of an ageing farming population and stressed the need to attract more young people into the sector.

He commended the organisers of the bootcamp for creating a platform to engage students pursuing agricultural studies, describing them as the future drivers of the country’s agricultural transformation agenda.

“The future of agriculture depends on our ability to attract and empower young people. These students are the future researchers, extension officers and agribusiness leaders we need to drive the sector forward,” he said.

As part of efforts to strengthen extension services, Mr. Nuhu announced plans to engage agricultural students as interns in farming communities. He revealed that more than 4,000 national service personnel have already been deployed under the Feed Ghana Programme through rolling contracts to support agricultural extension activities.

He said the initiative would help address the growing gap between farmers and extension officers across the country.

Team Lead of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Naa Akyaa Akosa, said this year’s bootcamp was redesigned to deepen participants’ understanding of the Feed Ghana Programme and the Farmer Service Centres initiative while giving them an opportunity to contribute ideas to policymakers.

She explained that students conducted research on the programmes and presented practical recommendations to officials from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

According to her, the Foundation will compile the recommendations into a five-page report for submission to relevant authorities and monitor their implementation.

Ms. Akosa described the process as an important step toward strengthening youth participation, innovation and inclusiveness in agricultural policymaking.

National Coordinator of the Feed Ghana Programme, Bright Demordzi, also described the bootcamp as a strategic platform for fostering collaboration between policymakers and young people to address challenges facing the agricultural sector.

He noted that the initiative aligns with government’s broader agricultural transformation agenda, which seeks to increase food production, improve market access, promote value addition and create employment opportunities for young people and women.

Mr. Demordzi stressed that sustained investment in youth-focused interventions and institutional capacity-building remains critical to building a resilient and competitive agricultural sector.

He reaffirmed MoFA’s commitment to working with development partners, including Agrihouse Foundation, to promote innovation and expand opportunities for young people within the agricultural value chain.