The Ghana-China Friendship Association (GHACHIFA) has signed the Ambassador Kojo Amoo-Gottfried Declaration on Agricultural Transformation and Ghana-China Strategic Cooperation in honour of its late patron and past president, as part of renewed efforts to promote agricultural transformation in Ghana.
The declaration, adopted at a national roundtable dialogue at the Tang Palace Hotel in Accra on August 18, 2026, calls for Ghana to move beyond its predominantly cocoa-dependent agricultural economy towards a diversified and resilient agricultural sector capable of driving industrialisation, job creation, food sovereignty and sustainable economic development.
The roundtable, held under the theme “The State of Agricultural Development in Ghana: Lessons from the People’s Republic of China,” brought together representatives from political parties and movements, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the 24-Hour Economy Authority, agricultural experts, researchers, farmers’ organisations, academia, the private sector, development partners and civil society.
Participants acknowledged agriculture as a foundation of food security, employment, industrialisation, environmental sustainability and national prosperity, while recognising the need for Ghana to translate its considerable agricultural resources into broader economic opportunities.
The declaration draws inspiration from China’s agricultural transformation, particularly reforms that began around 1978, while acknowledging that Ghana must develop solutions suited to its own history, culture, institutions and national aspirations.
Reading the declaration, the National Treasurer of GHACHIFA, Rev. Patience Ndebugre, said the association and other stakeholders must ensure that the outcome of the dialogue leads to practical action rather than becoming another set of recommendations without implementation.
“It is my prayer, and I take the prayer of all of us here gathered here, and those of us who are going to sign the declaration document, that it is not just one of the talks, but something will be done positively to impact our nation and our relationship with China as a whole,” she said.
The declaration identifies visionary leadership, strategic planning, scientific innovation, institutional discipline, rural revitalisation and policy continuity as some of the factors that contributed to China’s agricultural progress.
It stresses that Ghana can draw useful lessons from China’s experience while adapting them to the country’s own development realities.
“We resolve to pursue policies and partnerships that transform Ghana from a predominantly cocoa-dependent economy into a diversified agricultural transformation economy, where agriculture serves as a catalyst for industrialisation, innovation, employment, creation, food sovereignty, and sustainable national development,” the declaration states.
The signatories also adopted the document as a common framework to guide collaboration towards agricultural transformation, food sovereignty, agro-industrial development and stronger Ghana-China strategic cooperation.
“We, the undersigned representatives of our respective institutions, having participated in the national roundtable dialog convened by the Ghana-China Friendship Association (GHACHIFA) hereby adopt and endorse the Ambassador Kojo Amoo-Gottfried Declaration on Agricultural Transformation and Ghana-China strategic cooperation as a common framework to guide collaborative action towards Ghana’s agricultural transformation, food sovereignty, agro-industrial development, and strengthen Ghana-China strategic cooperation,” the declaration states.
The participants further committed to promoting the principles, objectives and recommendations contained in the declaration within their respective institutions and spheres of influence.
The gathering also paid tribute to Ambassador Kojo Amoo-Gottfried, whose contribution to the Ghana-China friendship movement was celebrated as GHACHIFA named the declaration in his honour. The General Secretary of GHACHIFA, Ing. Benjamin Anyagre, read the tribute to the late founder and past president.
Rev. Niebuhr reflected on the significance of continuing the work associated with the late founder and expressed the belief that he would be proud of the initiative.
“I am seeing in the ranks of the spirit that our Father, our patron, past president, is smiling from heaven for us doing this,” she said.
The adoption of the declaration marks an attempt by GHACHIFA and its partners to move the conversation around Ghana-China relations beyond diplomacy and trade to practical cooperation in agriculture, with a focus on transforming the sector into a stronger driver of economic growth and national development.