Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Agribusiness, Morrison Anthony, has explained that while education provides the blueprint for progress, education alone cannot deliver digitalization in farming.
Speaking at the Africa Digital Dialogue under the theme, “Smart Farming: Technology Meets Tradition,” hosted by MG Digital in partnership with the Africa Digital Foundation on Friday, November 21, 2025, he noted that it is the skills of the youth that truly drive economic transformation.
The dialogue forms part of the ongoing Africa Digital Festival (ADF) Dialogue Series, an annual event celebrating innovation and digital transformation across the continent. This session explored how digital tools, data systems, and modern techniques are helping farmers increase yields, reduce losses, and build resilience across the food value chain.
Morrison Anthony warned that without the right systems in place, the talents and potential of young people cannot be fully utilized in smart farming.
“Education is very important. Education determines the blueprint, but education does not transform economies. It is the skills of the youth that are able to move on the blueprint to drive the economy. If these systems were not in place, the blueprint as a result of education, the talent that the youth have may not be actualized.”
He also pointed out that while global digital smart farming is a multibillion-dollar industry and Ghana has a growing digital sector supporting agribusiness, the regulatory environment still poses challenges. Although some policies exist, significant gaps remain that hinder the ecosystem’s ability to thrive fully.
“Globally, we are aware that digital smart farming is worth $3.7 billion and is projected to grow to $5.1 billion. In Ghana, we can boast of a vibrant digital sector that promotes agribusiness, among other sectors. But the regulatory environment has not been quite open to what we need to do to thrive. As a country, we have done quite well in terms of coming up with some policies, but that notwithstanding, there is still a major concern for us, especially in the ecosystem, for us to be able to thrive.”
Anthony Morrison shared that digital smart farming is costly for smaller farmers and suggested Ghana consider merging certain government agencies to create a unified national development and regulatory authority. He emphasized the need for clearer structures to enhance global competitiveness.
“Digital smart farming does not operate in the lesser area. The less the area, the higher the cost. I will propose that as a country, it is time we consider merging some of the existing government institutions to form what I refer to as National Industries of Development and Regulatory Authority. We must be clear about global competitiveness.”
He added that building agricultural data systems is expensive and should not be placed solely on local farmers. Government funding, he argued, is essential to develop national data that will support and scale digital farming adoption.
“The cost of building data is very expensive and we can’t put that on the local farmer. Government must make available funds to be able to build national data that will inform or increase the adaptation of digital farming.”
