Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen show, Mr. Opoku commended Ghanaian farmers for their resilience despite challenges, describing their performance as exceptional.

According to the minister, the country currently has adequate buffer stocks to meet future needs. He further highlighted that the agriculture sector has been a major driver of economic growth, contributing significantly to the reduction of food inflation and general food prices.

Mr. Opoku also disclosed that the government is working to improve agricultural roads to ease transportation challenges and enhance access to markets.

“I believe we need to applaud Ghanaian farmers for their remarkable achievements despite the challenges they face. There have been no food shortages, and we maintain a buffer stock to ensure we are prepared for rainy days. Preliminary data indicates that we have exceeded our expectations,” Mr. Opoku said.

He added, “Agriculture has been a key driver of growth in our economy. Food inflation has decreased, and overall food prices have gone down. We are also working on improving agricultural roads to facilitate easier transportation.”

READ ALSO:

• Police gun down two suspects in foiled robbery attempt on Antoakrom–Manso Nkwanta road
• Kwahu West MCE charges new Chief Imam to promote truth and unity
• Faulty meter triggered Kasoa New Market fire – Resident
• Reboot Your Life Series: Let God lead personal and national leadership – Pastor Mark Hado

The 23-year-old claimed top prizes at the event, winning both the Female Athlete of the Year and Sports Personality of the Year titles.

On the same night, Barcelona B’s Abdul Aziz Issah took home the Prospect of the Year and Male Footballer of the Year awards.

The 49th SWAG Awards was held on Friday, January 24, 2025, at the Accra International Conference Centre.

The awards scheme, which is the longest-running event in the country, was held to recognize sportsmen and women who contributed immensely and brought honor to the country in 2024.

Here is the list of all award winners from the 49th edition of the SWAG Awards gala:

Sports Personality of the Year
Rose Yeboah Amoanimaa

Footballer of the Year (Male)
Abdul Aziz Issah

Home-based Footballer of the Year (Female)
Mukarama Abdulai

Foreign-based Footballer of the Year (Female)
Thelma Baffoe Atuah

Footballer of the Year (Home-based)
Jonathan Sowah – Medeama

Footballer of the Year (Female, Home-based)
Comfort Yeboah – Ampem Darkoa Ladies

Athlete of the Year (Male)
Edwin Gadayi

Athlete of the Year (Female)
Rose Yeboah Amoanimaa

Club of the Year
FC Samartex

National Team of the Year
Ghana’s Athletics Relay Team

Coach of the Year
Desmond Ofei – Black Satellites

Boxer of the Year
Amadu Mohammed

Beach Soccer Player of the Year
Alexander Adjei

Administrator of the Year
Bawah Fuseini – Ghana Athletics

Posthumous Award
Dr. Emmanuel Owusu-Ansah

Discovery of the Year
Ayisha Aminu

Prospect of the Year
Abdul Aziz Issah

Table Tennis Player of the Year
Israel Aklie

Volleyball Player of the Year
Rashaka Katadat – Ghana Army

Swimmer of the Year
Abeku Jackson

Male Hockey Player of the Year
Benjamin Acquah

Female Club of the Year
Royal Ladies Hockey Club

Student Athlete of the Year
Mariam Yussif

Hockey Player of the Year (Female)
Elizabeth Opoku of GRA Ladies

Referee of the Year
Nii Otoo Larkyne

Cyclist of the Year
Emmanuel Sesi

Taekwondo Athlete of the Year
Kelvin Amuzu

Weightlifter of the Year
Winifred Ntumi

Male Puller of the Year
Edward Yamoah Asamoah

Female Puller of the Year
Grace Minta

SWAG President’s Award
James Kwasi Appiah

SWAG Journalist of the Year
Bright Kankam Boadu

However, we have stepped out on a limb and taken a stab at the five biggest moments we think will shape ‘The Beautiful Game’ this year.

There is no better place to get your season-long ticket to the best football the world has to offer than DStv!

Biggest transfer: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool to Real Madrid

It seems inevitable that Trent Alexander-Arnold, perhaps the most gifted right-back in the world today, will swap the all-red of Liverpool for the all-white of Real Madrid once the 2024-25 season is all wrapped up. Though his positional awareness and one-one-one defending are – how can we put this kindly? – sub-optimal, TAA’s ball striking, passing and dead-ball ability more than makes up for it. And besides, defenders aren’t actually expected to defend at Real Madrid… they simply score more goals than the opposition.

Biggest managerial sacking & appointment: Ange Postecoglou gets the axe at Tottenham and is replaced by Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola

Though he has generally been a breath of fresh air at Tottenham Hotspur, Ange Postecoglou’s refusal to compromise on the ‘principles’ of his tactics will ultimately see him axed – likely at the end of the current campaign. The man to replace him will be Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola, whose ability to better balance establishing a playing identity with a pragmatic grit has helped the Cherries become one of the best pound-for-pound teams in the Premier League.

Biggest surprise triumph: Inter Milan win the UEFA Champions League

Though it has been 15 years since an Italian team won the UEFA Champions League, we’re going to back the same Serie A club that last claimed the top continental prize – Inter Milan in 2010 – to go all the way and lift the trophy in Munich in late May. The Nerazzurri were so close to glory two years ago against Manchester City, but fell just short. They are a better, more rounded team this season and manager Simone Inzaghi has a knack for success in cup competitions.

Biggest relegation in a major league: Valencia to drop out of La Liga

Champions League finalists in 2000 and 2001, La Liga winners in 200s and 2004, UEFA Cup (now Europa League) champions in 2004, and Copa del Rey winners as recently as 2018-19, Valencia are undoubtedly a storied and successful club. However, Los Che have fallen on hard times and find themselves on course to drop down to the second tier of Spanish football for the first time since 1986.

Biggest player impact: Victor Osimhen to turn Manchester United or Arsenal into true title contenders

Victor Osimhen’s surprise loan move to Galatasaray is only a temporary solution to his dispute with Napoli and manager Antonio Conte. Thus, the Nigerian superstar will move in mid-2025 to a Premier League team – likely Manchester United or Arsenal, both of whom would be enormously improved by the addition of a world-class striker – and his arrival will turn either the Red Devils or the Gunners into true title contenders.

You are entitled to the best football… After all, you’re a DStv subscriber! Get and stay connected to DStv and ensure you don’t miss a single game!

To upgrade or manage your subscription download the MyDStv app on your mobile app store or visit www.dstv.com.

You can also catch all the action while on the move. Stream all matches on the DStv Stream app by downloading it from the app store today!

This is higher than the 2.8% it earlier predicted in February 2024.

According to the AfDB, the revised growth rate is stronger than earlier anticipated, describing the medium-term growth outlook as positive.

The expected growth rate would be led by industry and services on the supply side and private consumption and investment on the demand side.

Ghana will thus place 14th ahead of Nigeria in West Africa with the strongest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.

Nonetheless, the outlook is clouded by several factors, including the impact of fiscal consolidation under the Post-Covid Programme for Economic Growth, the lingering effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, limited access to finance and foreign exchange, and global macroeconomic shocks.

However, AfDB said prudent macroeconomic management policies could mitigate the risks.

To fast-track structural transformation, the African Development Bank urged Ghana to enhance its competitiveness by easing infrastructure bottlenecks; and accelerate agro-industrialization by strengthening skills development, among others.

“Ghana’s structural transformation needs reinforcement. Productivity has stagnated in services, the dominant employment sector, and is rising only slowly in industry and agriculture. Agriculture’s employment share declined from 53.9% in 2007 to 29.8% in 2019, while the industry’s share rose from 14.1% to 21.0% and services’ share rose from 31.9% to 49.2% over the same period.

“To fast-track structural transformation, Ghana must enhance its competitiveness by easing infrastructure bottlenecks;  accelerate  agro-industrialization  by strengthening  skills  development, value addition, and private sector development; and create a policy framework for technology adoption and innovation”.

West African growth rate to hit 4.2%

Meanwhile, growth is projected to pick up in West Africa, rising from an estimated 3.6% in 2023 to 4.2% in 2024 and consolidating at 4.4% the following year. This is an upgrade of 0.3 percentage points for 2024 over the January MEO  2024 projections, reflecting stronger growth upgrades in the region’s large economies— Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal.

Real GDP growth is projected to rise to 3.7% in 2024 and will exceed the rate posted in 2022 by 2025, reaching 4.3% as most of the effects of the aforementioned factors fade.

The projected rebound in Africa’s average growth will be led by East Africa (up by 3.4 percentage points) and Southern Africa and West Africa (each rising by 0.6 percentage points).

Importantly, 40 countries will post higher growth in 2024 relative to 2023, and the number of countries with more than 5 percent growth rate will increase to 17.

READ ALSO:

• Prices of vegetables shoot up by 100% in Kumasi