Gov’t orders 1,840 pieces of farm machinery from Belarus in first major agric deal
Gov’t has placed an order for 1,840 pieces of agricultural equipment from Belarus as part of efforts to mechanise farming in the country.
President John Dramani Mahama announced the procurement deal on Monday at the Ghana-Belarus Business Forum in Minsk, describing it as the first tangible output of a push to turn decades of diplomatic ties between the two countries into concrete economic results.
The equipment will be deployed to farming service centres being established across the country to provide machinery, technical support and modern farming services to Ghanaian farmers.
“As I speak today, Ghana has placed an order of 1,840 pieces of agricultural equipment in Belarus. But this is only the beginning,” President Mahama told the forum.
The deal involves equipment from Belarus’s Gomselmash enterprise, which has earned an international reputation for excellence in agricultural machinery production and agro-industrial systems.
Beyond the current order, the President extended an invitation to Belarusian investors to participate in commercial farming, irrigation development, greenhouse production, fertiliser manufacturing, aquaculture, food processing and agricultural logistics in Ghana.
Ghana and Belarus also signed two memoranda of understanding on the sidelines of the forum, one establishing a joint commission for economic cooperation and the other covering agricultural production cooperation between chambers of commerce of the two countries.
President Mahama said the agreements laid the foundation for a relationship that would move beyond diplomatic exchanges into measurable investment, job creation and technology transfer.
Ghana’s agricultural sector stands at the centre of the administration’s 24-hour economy and accelerated export development programme, which targets expanded industrial output and positions the country as a leading production and export hub in Africa.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
