Nuclear Tech Boosts Ghana’s Export Ambition
Agriculture remains one of the main engines of Ghana’s economy, providing livelihoods for more than a third of the population and contributing around 20% of national GDP.
Cocoa, cashew, fruits and vegetables form the backbone of exports and underpin food security across West Africa. At the same time, the sector faces a structural problem: a significant portion of what is produced never reaches the market.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, up to 30% of perishable goods in sub-Saharan Africa are lost before sale, often because of inadequate storage, transport and quality-control systems.
In Ghana, these post-harvest losses are estimated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars each year and limit the competitiveness of agricultural exports.
As the state works to consolidate its role as a logistics and trade hub in West Africa, cutting post-harvest losses has become a central goal of its economic and agricultural policy. The country ranks among Africa’s top five logistics performers, thanks to expanding port capacity, digitalisation and participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Accra and Tema have evolved into gateways for the region’s food trade, while Ghana’s involvement in the UN World Food Programme demonstrates its strategic importance for regional supply chains. For the country’s exporters, however, meeting international sanitary and phytosanitary standards remains a daily hurdle. Fruits, vegetables and processed foods must meet strict import rules in the European Union, the United States and Asia, where contamination or insufficient shelf life can lead to rejection.
A range of initiatives is addressing these challenges from investment in cold-chain storage and smarter logistics management to training programmes for exporters on food-safety standards. However, even with these measures, conventional methods cannot fully prevent spoilage or guarantee long-term freshness. Agriculture-dependent countries are turning to nuclear technologies, which offer a safe and effective way to improve quality and extend shelf life.
At the Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute (BNARI) under the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, scientists have built the country’s first radiation technology centre for the treatment of food and packaging materials. Using gamma irradiation, products can be sterilised without affecting taste or nutritional value.
The process significantly extends shelf life and reduces spoilage during transport, which is a critical advantage for exporters of fresh produce and spices. BNARI’s facilities also serve hospitals and manufacturers, sterilising medical equipment and materials used in packaging and pharmaceuticals.
Globally, irradiation has become an accepted tool for food safety and logistics. Elsewhere on the continent, South Africa operates multiple irradiation facilities for food and sterile goods, demonstrating the technology’s regional feasibility. Dozens of countries use such centres to ensure that products meet international standards and remain traceable throughout long supply chains.
Similar multi-purpose irradiation centres are being developed in Uzbekistan and Bolivia with Russian technical expertise, using both gamma and electron-beam technologies. For Ghana, partnerships of this kind could help expand existing capacity at BNARI, train specialists and introduce advanced systems for quality control, traceability and certification – all essential for building confidence among foreign buyers.
Radiation processing also supports another national goal: waste reduction and food security. With about one in four Ghanaians experiencing some level of food insecurity, the ability to safely preserve agricultural output for longer periods can reduce dependence on chemical preservatives and cold storage, both costly and energy-intensive.
In practice, longer-lasting produce means less waste, more trade, and a stronger foundation for the logistics systems that move Ghana’s goods across the region. Combined with Ghana’s rapidly digitalising logistics sector, where tracking systems and warehouse automation are already being adopted, irradiation technology can anchor a new model of efficient, science-based supply chains.
International cooperation remains crucial to making that vision real. Ghana has already benefited from support by the International Atomic Energy Agency in developing its research base, while experts from Russia’s nuclear industry have shared experience from other regional projects in agriculture and logistics.
Similar collaborations could in future extend to building new irradiation facilities or integrating them into logistics corridors, helping exporters certify goods faster and move them more safely across borders. These peaceful nuclear technologies are not about power generation but about empowering trade.
As Ghana establishes itself as a regional logistics leader, science is quietly becoming part of its infrastructure. Radiation processing is turning from a laboratory technique into an industrial service that protects products, improves competitiveness and saves resources.
For a country where agriculture remains both a source of national pride and a pillar of economic growth, the impact could be far-reaching. With the right investment and international partnerships, Ghana’s nuclear know-how may soon travel as far as its goods – powering not just reactors, but the flow of trade across Africa.
