Author: Yaw Afrifa

The Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana (SVCAG) is urgently calling on the Government of Ghana to lift the existing ban on the exportation of soybeans, which continues to threaten the livelihoods of thousands of farmers, aggregators, and processors across the country.

Background

Since the introduction of the Export and Import (Restrictions on Exportation of Grains) Regulations, 2022 (L.I. 2467), which replaced the Restrictions on Exportation of Soya Bean Regulations, 2020 (L.I. 2432), Ghana has imposed restrictions on the export of three key agricultural commodities — rice, maize, and soya. These commodities are vital to both human and animal nutrition, making their regulation crucial for national food security.

However, the SVCAG has consistently advocated for a more transparent and inclusive export permit system. The current committee responsible for granting export permits operates without adequate representation from key industry stakeholders, including the Association itself. This exclusion has led to inefficiencies, lack of consultation, and unintended economic consequences for local farmers.

Impact of the Ban

The export ban, first instituted in December 2024 and still in force as of October 2025, has caused severe market distortions:

Soybean prices have plummeted from GHS 1,200 per 100kg in October 2023 to GHS 500 per 100kg by October 2025, with the potential for further decline as the 2025 harvest progresses.

The sharp price drop has reduced farmer incomes, discouraged production and threatened the sustainability of soybean farming across the five northern regions of Ghana.

Soybean cultivation, a vital source of employment for youth and women, is now at risk, with many households facing declining earnings and rising economic uncertainty.

Additionally, while local processors initially supported export restrictions, many now face declining demand for processed soy meal due to cheap imports from the United States and direct bean imports by large, foreign-owned processing companies. These factors have undermined local value addition, creating an uneven playing field for Ghanaian agribusinesses.

Call to Action

The Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana strongly believes that the continued ban on soybean exports has outlived its purpose and is now counterproductive. The Association emphasizes that:

“This issue is no longer just about trade—it has become a matter of economic justice and human rights. Our farmers deserve fair access to markets and fair prices for their produce.”

The SVCAG therefore calls on the Government to:

• Immediately lift the export ban on soybeans to stabilize prices and restore farmer confidence.
• Reconstitute the export restriction committee to include representatives from the SVCAG and other key stakeholders for greater transparency and accountability.
• Support local processors and farmers through fair trade policies and improved financing mechanisms.

As the nation prepares to celebrate Farmers’ Day, the most meaningful gesture the government can make to honour Ghanaian farmers is to lift the export ban and allow fair market participation.

Issued by: Yaw Afrifa — Executive Secretary
Endorsed by: Thomas W. Bello — Association Chairman

The Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana (SVCAG)
Advocating for sustainable growth, fair trade, and inclusive development within Ghana’s soybean industry.

Contact: 0244815594

Source: Daily Agric News

The Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana (SVCAG) has called on the government to immediately suspend the ban on soybean exports, warning that the restriction has crippled the market, pushed farmers into debt, and threatens to collapse the northern economy.

Executive Secretary of the Association, Yaw Afrifa, described the policy as “a human rights crisis,” arguing that it has left farmers stranded with unsold produce and forced many processors out of business.

“Prices have crashed from about GHS 1,200 per 100kg bag in 2023 to just around GHS 500 this year (2025),” he revealed.

“The cost of production alone stands around GHS 550 to 600, meaning farmers are selling at a loss. This is not just a policy failure—it’s destroying livelihoods.”

The export ban, introduced under the 2022 Export and Import (Restrictions on Exportation of Grains) Regulations, took effect in December 2024 as part of efforts to protect Ghana’s food security. However, almost a year later, farmers and processors say the policy has done more harm than good.

According to Mr Afrifa, Ghana’s non-GMO soybeans previously attracted strong international demand from countries such as India, China, and parts of Europe. But since the imposition of the ban, the country’s once-thriving soybean sector has been “brought to its knees.”

“Many processors have shut down or cut operations due to competition from cheap imported soya meal,” he lamented.

“The few that remain are mostly foreign-owned. So not only are Ghanaian farmers losing money, but the local agribusiness space is being taken over by foreign players.”

He criticised the government for imposing a “blanket ban” rather than introducing a transparent, permit-based export system.

“If we can’t support local processors, then allow farmers to export within controlled limits. Otherwise, we’re killing livelihoods in the name of food security,” he urged.

The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) has also joined the call for the ban’s review. Its Executive Director, Bismark Owusu Nortey, said the restrictions have hurt not only soybean farmers but also feed processors and poultry producers who rely heavily on soybeans as a key input.

“When farmers can’t sell, processors can’t plan, and the entire livestock industry suffers,” he explained. “This restriction has done more harm than good.”

Mr. Nortey warned that if the situation persists, many farmers will abandon soybean cultivation altogether in the next planting season—a move that could severely undermine national food security.

“If this continues, next season farmers will not plant, and that will be a bigger threat to food security than exports,” he cautioned.

Both associations are urging the government to lift the export ban, reconstitute the export permit committee to include representatives of farmers and processors, and ensure transparency in the management of agricultural intervention funds.

“As we approach Farmers’ Day, the government must decide whether it truly values farmers or just the rhetoric,” Mr. Afrifa stressed. “We don’t need speeches; we need policies that let us survive.”

Mr. Nortey added that urgent action is necessary to prevent a complete collapse of the soybean value chain.

“If the government does not act now, Ghana will soon be importing everything it can no longer grow. Farmers are losing hope, and when they stop planting, the nation will feel the real impact,” he said.

Source: MyJoyOnline

The government has with immediate effect placed a ban on the export of grains including maize, rice, and soya bean, according to the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong.

According to the sector minister, this directive, effective from now to January 2025, is to check the severe drought that has sparked widespread concerns about food security and the livelihood of thousands of farmers in the northern part of the country.

The affected regions have been without rain for over two months, with the extended dry spell stunting crop growth and leaving farmers with little hope for a successful harvest.

The Agric Minister, during a press briefing, indicated that the affected regions contribute about 62 percent of the country’s grain supply.

Maize, rice, groundnut, soya beans, sorghum, millet and yam are the most widely affected crops across these regions.

The government’s directive will ensure the availability of these critical crops on the domestic market.

Any farmer with stock interested in selling their grains has been advised to contact the district directorate across the country, or the Directorate of Crops, Ministry of Agriculture.

Presently, farmers risk losing GH₵ 7.4 billion as a result of potential crop failure due to the dry spell.

According to the Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana (SVCAG), the commercialization of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) seeds for soya beans will affect numerous peasant farmers engaged in cultivation.

The kick against the government’s attempt, the Association reiterates, is to safeguard the country’s pride from being contaminated while preserving the natural state of the beans — and to prevent the possible loss of peasant farmers’ livelihoods should the government go ahead with its plan.

Speaking at a press briefing held in Accra on Friday, 30th May 2024, the Executive Secretary of the Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana, Mr. Yaw Afrifa Anim, decried the possible destruction of Ghanaian non-GMO soybean production.

An immediate and pragmatic response is needed, he said, to protect the host of peasant farmers engaged in the cultivation.

“The Ghanaian non-GMO soybeans production is the niche market and when lost, it will result in massive unemployment,” the Association revealed.

Mr. Afrifa Anim reiterated that Ghana risks losing from GMO soya bean cultivation.

Aside from struggling to raise money for land preparation, irrigation, mechanization, inputs, services and warehousing, he disclosed that peasant farmers will face difficulty raising the dollars needed to import soya beans for cultivation, since harvested seeds will not be viable for replanting.

Given the growing concern, the Association has outlined six ways the country stands to lose should GMOs be commercialized.

SVCAG strongly believes that Ghana will lose the non-GMO soya beans niche market, and fears a possible collapse of the domestic market as consumers demand non-GMO soya beans.

The Association disclosed that GMO seeds will push smallholder farmers out of business.

The rest, according to the SVCAG, include increased unemployment, the loss of Ghana’s food sovereignty and security, and a country made uncompetitive in the face of the global market.

Rather than rolling out a measure that holds greater prospects of eroding gains made in the sector, SVCAG urges the government to promulgate legislation that will protect the value chain and the country at large.

Report by Ishmael Barfi.

General Public Advert
Date: 23rd November 2023

Expression of Interest for Off-Taker Agreements

The Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana is an association of all actors within the soya value chain, duly registered with the Registrar General’s Department of Ghana.

The Association’s GOAL is: “To establish a Soya Value Chain that will seek to produce quality soya beans for the production of Soya Products, to meet national demands, and to also make Ghana a net exporter of Soya Beans and Soya products.”

The association in 2023 is aggregating soya and complimentary commodities in its selected warehouses dotted over the country to trade in some selected commodities.

The Association is calling for Expression of Interest from prospective partners and Buyers to trade with our warehouse cooperatives. Prospective applicants should be prepared to trade with International off-take agreements and can provide LPO or FOB Contracts for the under-listed commodities. Their yearly trading capacity should not be less than 20,000 Mt for each of the commodities. NOTE THAT WE DO NOT PROVIDE CREDITS.

Commodities available this year are:

1. Soya beans
2. Soya Cake
3. Soya Bean meal
4. Soya Oil
5. Maize
6. Sorghum
7. Paddy Rice

All applications should be sent to the Executive Secretary at theexecutivesecretary@soyaghana.org

Yours faithfully,
Yaw Afrifa
Executive Secretary
Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana

Accra-Ghana, Sept. 01, GNA – Soya has been identified as a promising cash crop with the potential to revitalize and stimulate the country’s economy, pointing to becoming a leading source of revenue like or even surpassing cocoa.

The Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana revealed this during a consultative meeting held in Accra. It emphasized that soya was progressively becoming a lucrative cash crop for the agricultural sector.

The meeting was held as part of the association’s efforts to intensify its advocacy for the development of a national strategy plan designed to promote the expansion and advancement of Ghana’s soybean industry.

The meeting was convened at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research head office and emphasized the significance of fostering collaboration with government agencies, development partners, farmers, and similar stakeholders.

It was organized in collaboration with GIZ under the Sustainable Employment Agribusiness Programme (AgriBiz) on the theme: “A National Soya Strategy Plan for Ghana’s Economy: Influencing Policy for a Soya-Business Agenda.”

Mr. Yaw Afrifa, Executive Secretary of the association, told the GNA on the sidelines of the meeting that it was to jointly identify key areas for improvement and then come out with an inclusive national strategy to address the challenges of the soya sector.

He said the move aimed to soya productivity, enhance profitability, generate substantial revenue, make a positive contribution to the overall economic growth of Ghana, and guarantee food security.

“If the country looks at soya as a cash crop, it could generate income up to the level of cocoa or even more,” he said. “And so, this is a very great potential revenue earner for the country.”

Mr. Afrifa noted that the lack of proper coordination among industry actors such as development partners, government agencies, and the private sector within the soy value chain was leading to a limited impact on the overall sector.

“We’re here to look at a national strategy plan for Soya; this is because everybody is trying to do something here, something there, and we are not getting the impact.”

If Ghana considered soya a lucrative agricultural product, he said, it had the potential to generate income comparable to, or even surpassing, that of cocoa.

He urged policymakers to capitalize on this significant opportunity to generate substantial revenue and reap the numerous benefits of the growing global demand for soy.

He also urged both the government and farmers to recognize the immense potential of cultivating soybeans to diversify Ghana’s economy and increase export earnings.

Mr. Thomas W. Bello, Chairman of the Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana, highlighted the importance of a comprehensive national strategy plan to establish a clear roadmap for the long-term growth of the country’s soy industry.

He said the association had hosted a consultative meeting last year which revolved around the theme “Laying the foundations for sustainability after 2024” to streamline the soya sub-sector.

Mr. Bello said the objective was to gather input and insights regarding the proposed ban on the exportation of soya from Ghana.

He said a position paper was formulated during a soybean roundtable in 2022 that urged the government to establish a national strategy plan and reassess the composition of the export control committee, among other recommendations.

It subsequently petitioned parliament, urging a review of the legislation that governs the selection process for members of the export control committee.

However, Mr. Dominic Ayine, Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central and chairman of the subsidiary legislation committee of parliament, advised that the process should begin from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, which is holding jurisdiction over it.

The consultative meeting called for the establishment of a formal collaboration with stakeholder organizations like the Alliance for the Green Revolution in Africa, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, and the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana has held a one-day consultative stakeholder meeting in Tamale, in the Northern Region.

The meeting was convened to engage farmers and input dealers on how inputs such as fertilizer can be supplied in a sustainable manner.

The association also used the forum to sensitise actors on its 2023 action plan, and to hold consultations with smallholder farmers, processors and feed millers to address issues raised at the recent press conference in Tamale on low soya bean prices.

The Executive Secretary of the Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana, Yaw Afrifa, indicated that smallholder farmers have had challenges accessing quality soya seed due to financial difficulties, and that with support from its certified seed growers and input dealers, smallholder farmers are guaranteed a reliable and sustainable supply of seed and fertilizer.

According to him, the association works with lead farmers and input dealers to provide credit facilities to smallholders to enable them to cultivate larger acreages.

“Despite the Government of Ghana’s intervention with the supply of subsidised fertilizers, timely access to this critical input remains a major challenge in the crop production process for smallholder farmers. With the support of our partners at GIZ Ghana and the AgriBusiness Office, the SVCA has met with stakeholders in Tamale to explain the efforts underway to provide a long-lasting solution to these challenges and concerns within the soya value chain.”

Mr. Afrifa stressed that in spite of massive gains over the years, the operations of the soya value chain in Ghana have come under threat from foreign buyers flooding the market.

“The foreigners buy soyabeans directly from the farm gates, which results in price hikes of the produce. It is also to check this threat, regarding the production of quality seeds and supply of farm inputs, that the Association convened the Tamale meeting.”

He disclosed that the Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana had resolved that government should expedite action on the development of the National Strategy Plan that will serve as the blueprint for government and all stakeholders in the value chain; as a matter of urgency reconstitute the committee which controls the Restrictions on Exportation of Grains Regulations 2022 (L.I. 2467) to give access and control of the committee to value chain actors; and direct the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to increase consultations with value chain actors on the issue of soyabean.

Source: DailyGuide Network

The Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana (SVCAG) convened a stakeholder consultation conference in the soya value chain as part of efforts to enhance production in the soya industry.

At a one-day stakeholder meeting held in Tamale with support from USAID, Yara Ghana, GIZ Ghana and the AgriBusiness Office, stakeholders from the soya value chain across the five northern regions of Ghana attended.

Soybean farmers, aggregators and other actors in the soya value chain spoke with SVCAG leadership, seeking explanations for attempts to provide long-term solutions to their difficulties and concerns within the value chain.

The Executive Secretary of the Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana, Yaw Afrifa, said some smallholder farmers have had challenges accessing quality soya seed due to financial constraints, and that with SVCAG support from its certified seed growers and input dealers, smallholder farmers are guaranteed a reliable and sustainable supply of seed and fertilizer.

According to him, the association works with frontline farmers and input dealers to provide credit facilities to smallholders, enabling them to cultivate larger acreages.

He emphasised that despite massive gains over the years, the operations of the soya value chain in Ghana have come under threat from foreign buyers flooding the market.

The Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana, formed in 2018, is made up of researchers, seed producers, farmers, aggregators, and soya oil and cake processors, among others — with the overall aim of deliberate advocacy, trade facilitation, business linkages, and building the capacity of actors within the soya beans value chain.

The Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana is calling on government to appoint new leaders for the Ghana Commodities Exchange, Buffer Stock Company and the incoming Commodities Export Control Authority.

According to the association, leaders at these institutions do not have the requisite skills to regulate the affairs of the soya value chain.

Speaking at a press conference organized by the Soya Value Chain Association, Vice Chairman, Daniel Ahenkorah indicated that stakeholders along the value chain are usually overlooked in decision making.

“We sincerely appreciate government’s move to regulate the export of this commodity, but based on the concerns raised by our members who are the main actors, we think further engagement is needed. In addition, we would have liked that at every stage of the negotiations leading to the final decision of this temporal ban, members of SVCAG should have been consulted as a body but unfortunately, this did not happen.,” he said.

In a press statement sighted by Joy Business, the association stated their position on issues in the soya value chain.

The statement said, “Government should increase effort to develop a national strategy to make soyabeans a cash crop, Replicate and expand the SAPIP project to increase soyabean production in Ghana and Revise the leadership of public institutions like Ghana Commodities Exchange, the Buffer Stock Company and the incoming Commodities Export Control Authority to give value chain actors control to lead these committees for effective operations on the ground.”

This follows a recent directive from the government to regulate the export of these commodities.

The Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana was established more than a decade ago with an aim of producing and making available high quality certified soya seeds for farmers in Ghana and to quadruple soya beans production figure each year.

The Soya Beans Round Table discussion meeting is the advocacy programme of the Soya Value Chain Association of Ghana. The purpose of the programme is solely to advocate for the development of the value chain in Ghana.

Since the inception of the round table discussion meeting, it has been held at the national level. From the 28th of November 2022, the Round Table discussion meeting is being taken to ten Regional levels: Wa on the 28th and 29th of November, Tamale on the 1st and 2nd of December, and the 5th of December in Accra.

The topics to be discussed will be:

1. Launch value chain regional committees to facilitate the work of the association in Wa and Tamale. These committees will support project staff to facilitate and coordinate activities of the association in the various regions.
2. To seek the support of members to formally register and support revenue mobilization for the association to be able to provide needed services to members. They will be introduced to take advantage of our digitization, website and other social media handles to promote business and increase revenue for the association.
3. Members of the association will be given updates on the facilitation of the finance available and how to take advantage of it.
4. We will use the same platform to mobilize other development partners and public partner stakeholders in soya within the various regions, to understand their operations for effective coordination and to increase accessibility and impact in projects.
5. The platform will also speak on ANTI-GMO seeds and cultivation, its implications, and hold a press conference to present a position paper to policymakers.
6. Launch our “Brown Gold” Business Forum with a one-week television programme of discussions and documentaries.