The Volta River will play a critical role in Ghana’s Grow 24 strategy under the broader 24-Hour Economy policy, according to Presidential Advisor on the 24-Hour Economy, Mr. Goosie Tanoh.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Wednesday, July 3, Mr. Tanoh said the river was deliberately chosen because of its potential to drive agricultural transformation and significantly reduce the high cost of logistics in the country.
“If you look at the end product of most of our food — what you eat at your table, what goes to the factory as raw material or for export — about 60% of the cost is from logistics,” Mr. Tanoh explained. “That’s even more than the cost of the material being transported.”
He noted that globally, the average logistics cost as part of total production is about 15%, meaning Ghana is operating at a 45% disadvantage in terms of efficiency.
“If we are able to improve the supply chain, we’re basically bringing down the cost of food, potentially reducing it by 45% just to reach the global average,” he added.
Mr. Tanoh further explained that using the Volta River for transport is not only environmentally sustainable but also economically smarter.
He pointed out that water transport has historically been the backbone of industrial and agricultural growth in many developed economies.
“Look at the Mississippi River, the Thames, the Danube, the Nile, and even the Congo, with all its challenges. Water transport supports both agriculture and industry because it offers power and connectivity,” he said.
According to Mr. Tanoh, Ghana’s Volta River has a shoreline of about 3,283 miles, offering a vast natural transport corridor that can connect regions from north to south and east to west — at a fraction of the cost of road transport.
“It costs one-eighth of what it takes to transport goods by road. One barge with a tugboat can carry 700 tonnes. To move the same amount from Accra to Tamale by road, you’d need about 15 trucks, all emitting fossil fuels and worsening our carbon footprint as a country,” he explained.
He stressed that tapping into water transport through the Volta River will not only lower logistics costs but also unlock access to large tracts of fertile land, creating opportunities for both commercial and smallholder farmers.
“We are building an organisational framework that supports large-scale farming but also integrates smallholders through a formalised crop system,” Mr. Tanoh concluded.
