By Issah Olegor
A growing public dispute between the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and the Ministry of Finance has escalated into one of the most significant intra-government disagreements under the administration of President John Dramani Mahama, with officials from the Agriculture Ministry openly challenging claims by the Finance Ministry regarding the release of funds for agricultural programmes.
The latest development follows a strongly-worded statement issued by Samuel Huntor, Media Liaison Officer at the Office of the Minister for Food and Agriculture, in which he rejected assertions by the Finance Ministry that it had released GH¢1.677 billion, representing 85 percent of MOFA’s approved 2026 budget allocation.
Virtually describing the Finance Minister as a liar, Huntor challenged the Finance Ministry to open verification.
The Finance Ministry’s claim was initially made by Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem, who announced that substantial resources had been released to support agricultural transformation initiatives, including fertilizer distribution, irrigation projects, mechanization programmes, Farmer Service Centres, food security interventions, and the government’s broader agricultural agenda.
However, in a response that has intensified tensions between the two ministries, the Agriculture Ministry argued that the figures being presented to the public do not correspond with official budget execution records and expenditure authorizations issued by the Finance Ministry itself.
In a statement titled “Stop the Infantile Propaganda Before It Explodes,” Samuel Huntor questioned the basis of the Finance Ministry’s figures and challenged officials to reconcile their public claims with the ministry’s own budget allotment documents.
According to the Agriculture Ministry, the Ministry of Finance issued a Commitment Authorization to MOFA on February 15, 2026. Four days later, however, the Finance Ministry reportedly issued its First and Second Quarter Budget Allotment Letter, which imposed a ceiling on the Agriculture Ministry’s spending for the first half of the year.
The Agriculture Ministry stated that the allotment letter clearly capped total expenditure at GH¢910 million for the first six months of 2026, regardless of figures contained in the earlier authorization.
The ministry further disclosed that the accompanying expenditure schedule restricted actual spending between January and June 2026 to approximately GH¢453 million, covering staff compensation, operational costs, contract obligations, and programme implementation.
MOFA questioned how a release of GH¢1.677 billion could have occurred when official expenditure ceilings remained significantly below that amount.
The statement noted that allocations approved under the allotment schedule included GH¢172.5 million for Farmer Service Centres, GH¢36.7 million for the Nkokonkitinkiti poultry initiative, GH¢77.3 million for fertilizer and certified seeds, GH¢4.5 million for the Feed Ghana Programme, GH¢30 million for the National Food Buffer Stock Company, and GH¢26.25 million for irrigation infrastructure.
According to the ministry, no subsequent communication had been received from the Finance Ministry authorizing expenditure beyond the limits established in the allotment letter.
The disagreement intensified further when MOFA released another statement providing what it described as actual budget release figures received by the ministry as of May 29, 2026.
The ministry stated that total releases amounted to approximately GH¢244.3 million, representing only 12.4 percent of its approved 2026 budget of GH¢1.97 billion.
According to the figures released by the ministry, only GH¢5.3 million had been received out of an approved allocation of GH¢35.4 million for the operations of MOFA headquarters and its agencies.
For the Poultry Farm-to-Table Project, popularly known as the Nkoko Nketenkete Programme, the ministry indicated that it had received approximately GH¢67.4 million from an approved allocation of GH¢244.9 million.
The Fertilizer and Certified Seeds Programme, regarded as one of the most important interventions for food crop production, had reportedly received only GH¢15.3 million from an approved allocation exceeding GH¢515 million.
The ministry further disclosed that no funds had been released to the National Food Buffer Stock Company despite a budget allocation of GH¢200 million intended to support strategic grain purchases and food reserves. Similarly, officials indicated that no releases had been made for the planned construction of 50 Farmer Service Centres, despite Parliament approving GH¢690 million for the initiative.
The public disagreement comes at a critical time for Ghana’s agricultural sector, which remains central to government efforts to control food inflation, improve food security, create jobs, and reduce dependence on food imports.
It also emerges amid growing political attention surrounding the future leadership of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC). Agriculture Minister Eric Opoku recently declared his readiness to contest the party’s future presidential primary should delegates deem him suitable to lead the party.
Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson is likewise widely regarded as a leading figure in discussions about the party’s post-Mahama future.Although neither minister has publicly linked the funding dispute to internal party politics, the disagreement has fueled speculation within political circles, particularly as succession conversations gradually gather momentum ahead of the 2028 elections.
The controversy has also attracted commentary from former Agriculture Minister and Abetifi MP Bryan Acheampong, who warned that any prolonged breakdown in cooperation between the Finance and Agriculture Ministries could have serious consequences for food production, food prices, and national food security.
