The Division Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone at the World Bank, Robert Taliercio O’Brien, has reiterated the Bank’s commitment to sustaining its collaboration with the Government of Ghana in implementing the Tree Crops Diversification Project, an initiative designed to unlock 20,000 job opportunities across key agricultural value chains.
Delivering remarks on his behalf, a World Bank representative underscored strong institutional backing for Ghana’s ambitious palm oil development agenda. The programme is projected to benefit 50,000 farmers, rehabilitate and develop 90,000 hectares of productive landscapes, and achieve a net reduction of approximately 382,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
It is also expected to leverage $30 million through public-private partnerships while facilitating the entry and expansion of large-scale processors within the sector.
The Tree Crops Diversification Project, launched in November 2024 with a $200 million credit facility from the International Development Association, aims to improve economic, climate and social resilience across selected tree crop value chains in Ghana. The financing structure reflects a long-term development approach focused on institutional reform, private sector participation and climate-smart agriculture.
The World Bank expressed optimism about the responsible expansion of Ghana’s tree crop sector, particularly in light of sustained government attention to farmer welfare and regulatory reform. The Bank noted that value addition within Ghana remains central to ensuring that agricultural growth translates into inclusive economic development.
“We’re confident that the government’s sustained attention and action for the benefit of farmers and of all stakeholders can generate a forward leap in the responsible expansion of the tree crop sector and, importantly, in the scaling up of in-country value addition to Ghana’s precious tree crop commodities,” the statement said.
The project is structured around four key components. The first, Institutional Strengthening and Value Chain Governance, seeks to reinforce the capacity of the Ghana Cocoa Board and the Tree Crops Development Authority, while enhancing sector governance to ensure competitive and sustainable development.
The second component focuses on improving productivity and climate resilience across tree crop farms. It supports interventions that enhance farm-level profitability, promote climate-smart agricultural practices and strengthen resilience against environmental shocks.
Under the third component, the project prioritises post-harvest management, value addition and market access. This includes support for private investments in secondary processing by small and medium enterprises within cocoa, cashew and coconut value chains, as well as the establishment and upgrading of cashew and coconut processing facilities.
The fourth component centres on project coordination, management, monitoring and evaluation. It provides institutional support to the Project Implementation Unit at COCOBOD and the Project Coordination Unit at the Tree Crops Development Authority to ensure effective delivery, accountability and measurable impact across the project lifecycle.
The sector contributes roughly one-fifth of national GDP and employs nearly 40% of the country’s labour force. Women remain central to this ecosystem, with an estimated 70% of economically active women engaged in agriculture, underscoring the sector’s role not only in growth but also in social stability and household livelihoods.
Tree crops in particular form the backbone of Ghana’s agricultural export economy. Although they occupy only about 24% of agricultural land, they account for approximately 85% of agricultural export earnings. Cocoa alone represents about 70% of tree crop export revenue, reinforcing its strategic importance to the national economy.
Beyond cocoa, the subsector includes cashew, oil palm, rubber, coconut and shea, involving commercial producers, traders, aggregators, processors and a vast network of smallholder farmers who depend on these crops for their subsistence.
Through this multi-component framework, the World Bank signalled its continued partnership with Ghana in transforming the tree crop sector into a more resilient, value-driven and environmentally sustainable pillar of the national economy.
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