Ghana’s 2026 Budget has been hailed as a technically focused approach to addressing the country’s energy sector challenges among others.
Deloitte Ghana, a professional services firm, believes the budget shifts attention toward production decline management, gas-to-power sustainability, infrastructural completion, and long-term access goals.
The government’s recognition of the decline in petroleum output and plans for Voltarian Basin drilling is seen as a positive step toward securing future reserves.
However, Deloitte emphasizes that success depends on sustained investor confidence, clarity of fiscal terms, and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation’s (GNPC) financial capacity.
“The government will need to continue to enforce the Cash Water Fall Mechanism (CWM) to ensure gains realized now are sustained as part of the overall strategy to improve the financial health of the energy sector”, the firm admonished. “Commitment to the CWM will also ensure renegotiated PPAs [Public Partnership Agreements] are honoured to also guarantee Ghana’s energy security and sustained development”.
It also stressed that the emphasis on gas utilisation is prudent, stating that gas remains Ghana’s most reliable path to reducing power generation costs, stabilising electricity tariffs, and mitigating foreign exchange risk.
Though the budget recognises this, Deloitte said execution challenges remain, particularly around infrastructure timelines, upstream supply reliability, and financing arrangements.
“It is important for the government to ensure commitment to all the gas infrastructure investments including the commitment to make available 70 MMscf/day of gas to the power sector. This is important to guarantee a reduction first in the energy sector debts and long-term reduction in the cost of electricity to consumers”.
Meanwhile, the budget has also been welcomed by various stakeholders, including the Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association of Ghana (VEPEAG) and the Ghana Small Scale Oil Palm Producers Association (GOPPA), who believe it will boost agricultural productivity, improve supply chains, and make food more affordable for Ghanaians.
Vegetable Producers and Exporters
The President of the Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association of Ghana (VEPEAG), Felix Mawuli Kamassah has expressed optimism over the 2026 national budget, emphasizing its potential to lower food prices, improve farm-to-market logistics, and support agricultural productivity.
Speaking on the presentation of the budget, he highlighted the government’s focus on improving farm roads in underserved areas, noting that better connectivity between villages and main markets could significantly reduce transportation costs.
“When products are moved from remote villages to roadside collection points, costs build up, and farmers often pass those costs to consumers. If the government invests in these roads, transporters can access farms more efficiently, reducing overall food prices,” he explained.
Beyond road infrastructure, Felix Kamassah welcomed planned support for mechanisation. The budget proposes the provision of machinery services to farmers, a move VEPEAG believes could enhance efficiency and reduce reliance on manual labour.
“Mechanisation services are critical. If they start early and are completed on time, farmers can prepare land faster, improve yields, and reduce production costs,” he said.
He also underscored the importance of irrigation initiatives, noting that changing climate patterns make traditional rain-fed agriculture increasingly unreliable. He pointed to the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA), highlighting the need to rehabilitate existing irrigation sites to boost production and stabilize commodity prices.
“If we pay attention to irrigation, we can increase output and deliver commodities to the market at lower prices,” he said.
VEPEAG believes that the combination of improved farm roads, mechanisation support, and irrigation infrastructure, as outlined in the 2026 budget, could strengthen the private sector’s role in agriculture, improve supply chains, and ultimately make food more affordable for Ghanaian consumers.
Oil palm smallholders
The Ghana Small Scale Oil Palm Producers Association, GOPPA, is applauding the 2026 Budget, describing it as a transformational turning point for the country’s oil palm industry.
GOPPA says the launch of the National Policy on Integrated Oil Palm Development backed by a GH¢6.9 billion budget allocation and a US$500 million long-term finance window marks the strongest commitment yet to industrialise Ghana’s “Red Gold” sector.
In a statement signed by Kojo Obeng Berkoh, Executive Secretary of GOPPA, the Association noted that the new policy outlines major interventions, including the establishment of 100,000 hectares of new plantations, the creation of over 250,000 jobs, and expanded support for downstream processing and value addition.
GOPPA also welcomed the outgrower partnership scheme, which offers smallholders high-yield seedlings, mechanisation, subsidised inputs, and guaranteed off-take agreements.
The Association further praised the concessional US$500 million financing window, describing its five-year moratorium and long repayment structure as critical for a crop with a seven-year maturity cycle.
It also lauded efforts to strengthen industry institutions such as the Tree Crops Development Authority, the Oil Palm Research Institute, and EXIM Bank.
GOPPA says with its 3,000-member network targeted to grow to 20,000 in the next four years it stands ready to support the successful rollout of the policy and help position Ghana as a leading sustainable producer of palm oil.
By Adnan Adams Mohammed
