He said the Tree Crops Development Authority’s (TCDA) proposal for a mandatory tree crop cultivation policy for public officials was timely and aligned with efforts to strengthen Ghana’s agricultural transformation agenda.
Speaking at the opening of the 2026 Tree Crops Investment Summit and Exhibition in Accra, President Mahama disclosed that he owned a 50-acre cocoa farm and had recently begun cultivating a 100-acre oil palm plantation.
“Public servants, ministers, priests, clergymen, traditional rulers, everybody should try and do some agriculture. Just next-door Cote D’Ivoire, almost every public servant has a farm. We must walk the talk, and we must lead by example.
“We cannot always tell people to go back to the land when you are not going back to the land,” he said.
President Mahama said building economic resilience required reducing over-reliance on single commodity exports, stressing the importance of tree crops to the Government’s agricultural transformation agenda.
Under the proposed policy, public servants, civil servants, Members of Parliament, Ministers of State and government appointees would be required to own a minimum of 25 acres of tree crops suitable to their ecological zones.
The TCDA indicated that compliance with the policy could serve as a criterion for public appointments or qualification to contest as a Member of Parliament.
Dr Andy Osei Okrah, Chief Executive Officer of the TCDA, said the initiative, if adopted, could help the country achieve a 20 to 30 per cent increase in export earnings and create 500,000 new jobs by 2030.
“Going for retirement, you will not struggle. Your future is secured. That is what I am recommending for my colleagues, public servants, CEOs and civil servants.
“I have told them that when it’s time for you to retire, you don’t need to go for extension or anything. You must go to the farm and processing plant to go and enjoy,” he said.
The TCDA, which focuses on the development of the cashew, coconut, oil palm, rubber, mango and shea sectors, has outlined a series of interventions under five strategic pillars.
These include production expansion, productivity enhancement, industrial growth and value addition, regulatory and standards strengthening, and data and digital enablement.
GNA
