Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture and Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wuogon, John Dumelo, has announced that the government is taking steps to minimize post-harvest losses in the Volta Region.

According to a post shared on his Facebook page, on October 12, 2025, the Ayawaso West Wuogon Member of Parliament met with farmers in Angloga and Ketu South in the Volta region to discuss their challenges and assure them of the government's support.

"On Friday, I visited onion/tomato farmers in Angloga and Ketu South in the Volta region to listen to their concerns. I assured the farmers that the Government stands with them, and we have started putting structures in place to reduce post-harvest losses. #idey4u," Honourable John Dumelo wrote.

In 2024, Ghana's agricultural sector faced significant financial losses, with post-harvest challenges costing the nation approximately $1.9 billion annually, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).

The losses, which primarily affect perishable goods, are largely attributed to inadequate post-harvest infrastructure, such as insufficient machinery, lack of market access, inadequate warehousing, bushfires, and poor road conditions.

Miss Elorm Goh, Executive Director of Agrisolve, highlighted the severe impact of these losses on smallholder farmers, who were losing about 30 percent of their income due to post-harvest inefficiencies.

Speaking at a technical stakeholders’ breakfast meeting in Accra, she emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating, "If you lose even one percent of your produce, it’s a big deal, but in this case, farmers are losing up to 50 percent due to post-harvest challenges."

The meeting, organized by the Graphic Communications Group in partnership with the WFP, focused on transforming agricultural productivity in Ghana by reducing post-harvest losses.

Miss Goh called for increased government intervention, particularly in fostering private sector participation to improve infrastructure, including the provision of adequate warehouses and processing machinery.

"If we provide the roads, the right machinery for harvesting of produce, and more cold rooms for storage, farmers won’t be losing between 40 to 50 percent of their toil, and that will definitely be income for them," she added.

In addition to infrastructure improvements, Miss Goh urged financial institutions to develop innovative, tailor-made solutions for those involved in the agricultural value chain, aiming to reduce post-harvest losses and boost farmers' incomes.

Mr. Steven Odartefio, Head of Food Systems at the WFP, underscored the need for local government structures to facilitate connections between agribusinesses and farmers.

"Farmers are losing their output, which has an impact on their pocket. Although they harvest more, they supply less because by the time it gets to the end market, certain activities contribute to losses of the produce," he noted. He advocated for government support in linking agribusinesses with farmers to help transform produce and benefit smallholder farmers.

Madam Marbara Clemens, Country Director for the WFP in Ghana, discussed a partnership with the MasterCard Foundation, which aims to provide technical support and post-harvest equipment to 100,000 smallholder farmers.

This initiative is designed to reduce post-harvest losses and improve agricultural productivity through innovative solutions delivered by a network of aggregators.

Madam Clemens also called for a national effort to address challenges across the agricultural value chain, from seed production to processing, to make the sector more appealing to the youth.

She emphasized that prioritizing the patronage of locally produced goods would significantly enhance food security and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

Meanwhile, last month, farmers in nine regions were earmarked to receive 100 water-pumping machines seized from galamsey sites to support the implementation of the government’s Feed Ghana Programme.

This was announced by the Minister for Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Mr Eric Opoku while presenting the machines at the Agricultural Engineering Service Directorate Office at Amrahia in Accra last week.

According to him, nine hundred(900) machines were seized by a task force in the fight against galamsey and will be handed to farmers in Upper East, Upper West, North East, Savannah, Northern, Greater Accra, Volta, Oti, and Bono East for agricultural use following a court order.

“We wanted to avoid a situation where these machines, after being distributed, end up at galamsey sites again. That is why we deliberately chose regions without active illegal mining operations,” Mr. Opoku explained.

Mr. Opoku stated that the equipment had undergone inspection by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture’s technical personnel, who found them in safe condition for use on farms.

Speaking on behalf of the beneficiary regions, the Northern Regional Minister, John Ali Adolf, assured that the machines would be used for their intended purposes and would never be returned to any galamsey site. He added that, as regional ministers, they would periodically monitor the use of the machines.

“We wouldn’t want anyone, for any reason, to ever attempt galamsey activities in our regions. These machines will be used to help farmers on their farms so that they can water crops across the seasons, especially during the dry season,” he explained.

Mr. Adolf expressed gratitude to President John Dramani Mahama for his dedication to the fight against galamsey in the country.

Government’s efforts to clamp down on illegal mining activities

The government has rolled out an official order requiring all machinery used in mining operations to be registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) by August 1. A statement issued by the Ministry of the Interior on Tuesday, July 15, states that the state will confiscate unregistered mining equipment after the deadline.

"The Government, as part of efforts to reform the mining sector in the country, requires that all machinery used in mining activities must be registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) by 1st August 2025. Equipment that remains unregistered after this deadline will be confiscated by the State," the Ministry stated on its website.

Mr. Mubarak empowered the Ghana Police Service and DVLA to begin strict enforcement of the new rule from August 2. "The Ghana Police Service and DVLA have been directed to enforce this directive from 2nd August 2025 onward rigorously. The general public, especially those who use mining machinery, are advised to take note and comply with the directive," he wrote.

The Ministry reiterated its resolve to maintain national peace through effective internal security and law enforcement. Meanwhile, a similar directive was issued months ago, asking excavator owners and operators to register their machines with the DVLA within two weeks or risk losing them to the state as the government intensifies efforts to clamp down on illegal mining activities.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the DVLA, Julius Neequaye Kotey, issued the directive in Accra, warning that effective June 1, any excavator not registered with the DVLA would be confiscated. Speaking at a press briefing, Mr. Kotey announced that the Ghana Police Service and the DVLA’s operational team had commenced nationwide enforcement after the deadline, arresting and impounding excavators being used at mining sites or for commercial purposes without proper documentation.

“This exercise will help identify every excavator that enters the country and trace how it is being used. The goal is to ensure we can monitor and hold people accountable,” Mr. Kotey said.

The directive aligns with Section 38 of the Road Traffic Act, 2004 (Act 683), which mandates the registration of all motor vehicles and trailers, including farm and heavy-duty equipment. Despite the law, the DVLA found many unregistered excavators operating in mining areas, some of which had been used in illegal activities.

Mr. Kotey emphasized that the DVLA, with its 34 offices nationwide, could register all excavators and farm machinery within two weeks and was ready to strictly enforce the directive. “Excavators in the hands of illegal miners have worsened the destruction of our environment. This is why we must act,” Mr. Kotey said.

To further control the situation, the DVLA, in collaboration with key agencies like the Minerals Commission, National Security, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), commenced tagging all newly imported excavators.

In addition to tagging new imports, the Minerals Commission was tasked with leading a team to tag all excavators already in the country. Legal small-scale mining sites have also been geo-fenced, with their site coordinates integrated into the Ghana Mine Repository and Tracking software for better oversight.

The move is part of broader government efforts to combat illegal mining. Three months ago, Lands and Natural Resources Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah announced the rollout of a system to monitor excavator imports and usage, involving port tagging and digital tracking in partnership with several state agencies. According to the sector minister, the third most valuable item imported into the country is excavators, worth GHC6.2 billion.

Crackdown on illegal mining activities

In April, a total of 47 individuals were arrested for engaging in illegal mining activities along the Tano River and within the Aboi, Subri, and Nimiri forests in the Western Region. This followed a special four-day intelligence-led operation that commenced on April 17 within the Samreboi enclave.

According to the Ghana Police Service, the suspects included 39 Ghanaians and 8 Chinese nationals. The Police indicated that a significant amount of equipment and materials believed to have been used for the mining operations were retrieved, including seventeen excavators, one bulldozer, four motorbikes, two Toyota Hilux vehicles, one Rav4 vehicle, four pump-action guns, one single-barrel gun, fifty-four live BB cartridges, and eight pumping machines.

Prosecution began for the arrested suspects. On Tuesday, 41 of them were arraigned, with 29 remanded into police custody to reappear before the court on April 30, 2025. Twelve others were also remanded to return to court on May 2, 2025. The remaining seven were put before the court on April 23, 2025.

Two coordinated operations conducted on Friday, June 20, at Nikanika and Adeade in the Central Region led to the arrest of three suspects and the seizure of several pieces of mining equipment. The operations were executed by the Ghana Police Service through its Special Anti-Galamsey Task Force.

The task force proceeded to a mining site at Nikanika. Although no operators were found at the scene, the team retrieved one single-barrel shotgun loaded with a cartridge and three water-pumping machines. The task force extended its operation to Adeade, where three suspects—Prosper Quansah, Chrispin Nartey, and Owusu Gambra—were arrested with an excavator on a lowbed trailer.

One SANY excavator, four unregistered Haojin motorbikes, and one lowbed vehicle with registration number GN 2136-24 were seized from the scene. All exhibits were secured in police custody.

Some 12 accused persons standing trial for engaging in illegal mining activities at Tumetu near Princess Town in the Ahanta West Municipality of the Western Region were remanded into prison custody. While 10 of the accused persons were arrested at a palm plantation, two were arrested at the Elluabo Chavene Ghana Rubber Estate Limited (GREL) plantation.

This was due to a coordinated police intelligence-led operation within the Ahanta West Municipality. The accused persons are Lord Yankey, Caleb Adu Kwaw, Stephen Agyei, Ebenezer Barnes, Mathew Somagevi, Paa Grant, Bashiru Kaviru, Joseph Borney, Aminu Issah, Kofi Sogah, Albert Normah, and Robert Mensah. Four water-pumping machines, one tricycle with registration number M-20-WR 1045, and two motorbikes were retrieved from the sites, according to the police.

All twelve accused persons admitted to the offence during police interrogations. They were subsequently put before the Takoradi Harbour Area Circuit Court ‘A’ and remanded into prison custody at Sekondi, reappearing before the court on Tuesday, July 8.

Additionally, fifteen individuals are in police custody for engaging in illegal mining activities at Manso Adubia. They were arrested following a special intelligence-led operation at Watreso and Preacher Krom.

The suspects include Tahiru Ibrahim (24), Shaibu Idrissu (23), Boateng Emmanuel (27), Jamon Kwaku Samuel (21), Yaro Patrick (29), Kofi Boakye (21), Gubong Mathew (45), Fatawu Zackari Seidu (26), Abdul Malik Seidu (22), Dauda Tahiru (23), Sampson Grace (21), Boolangkpuo Freda (24), Arima Hagar (26), Kwarteng Vasco (30), and Kwame Adutwum (24).

Two excavator control boards, two automatic pump-action guns, two Musler 12 firearms, 59 BB cartridges, three AA cartridges, one water-pumping machine, two power generators, one vulcanizing machine, and one Apsonic motorbike were seized from the site.