We will be food secured and resilient by the next five years-Agric Minister

Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Bryan Acheampong, is confident that the ambitious plan to achieve self-sufficiency in food production in five years under the second phase of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ 2.0) programme is achievable.

The vehicle to deliver this promise is PFJ 2.0, a five-year strategic intervention, borne out of major challenges, gaps, and unacceptable state of affairs reflected by some indicators in the agriculture sector.

The focus is on improving productivity, creating jobs, and promoting food security aligns with Ghana’s development priorities, and its success will depend on the continued support of stakeholders and the government’s commitment to agriculture.
The success of PFJ Phase II will depend on several factors, including funding, implementation, and sustainability.

The initiative is seeking to among others reduce food price inflation, build food systems resilience, and promote import substitution and exports.

It will also contribute to Ghana’s efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 2 which relates Zero Hunger and SDG 1 which focuses on poverty reduction.

Dr. Acheampong announced this when he and Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development jointly launched the 2023 Agrifest to help Ghana achieve food security and resilience by 2028.

3-day exhibition

The three-day exhibition, which is part of the Farmers’ Day celebration week attracted various actors in the agricultural value chain from across the 16 regions, display food crops, items and products, clothing and machinery in Accra, for viewing and sale.

Among the items were locally produced yoghurts, cereals, cash crop powder, mushroom and soda pastries, palm, groundnut and coconut oil, legumes, manure, fertilisers, weedicides, tractors, African fabrics, cocoa and shea products.

Dr. Acheampong emphasized the importance of showcasing the tools farmers employ to help achieve food security saying that input dealers, farmers, regional and district agriculture offices, fisheries departments across the country and a lot of stakeholders would help to achieve the target.

He said Ghana could only attain food security and resilience through the hard work of farmers, hence it was very important to honour and encourage them to do more for the economy.

“It is important for all Ghanaians to come on board to march the journey together for us to achieve our food security and resilience. We believe with the trajectory we have embarked on as a country, we will be food secured and resilient by the next five years,” he added.

He enumerated the immense opportunities that come with the input credit system introduced under PFJ 2.0 and complimentary interventions through the establishment of agriculture zones and economic enclaves.

PFJ 2.0 is a collaboration between MoFA and Youth Employment Agency (YEA) and Dr. Acheampong announced that preliminary conversation had started about the form such collaboration would take to ensure commitment on both sides.

Youth to volunteer suggestions

He urged the youth to volunteer suggestions to strengthen the collaboration between the Government and the youth to implement the initiative to achieve the goal of greater involvement in the sector to ensure the value chain delivers enough food and creates jobs sustainably.

Dr. Achampong stated that PFJ phase one made significant inroads in food production on the back of the input subsidy programme, increased local capacity for seed production, crop diversification into tree crops and expansion of the Agriculture Mechanization Services Center programme through the acquisition of a variety of machinery and equipment to support farming.

Addressing post-harvest losses

He announced plans to invest in infrastructure such as irrigation systems, storage facilities, and roads to improve the transportation of agricultural products.

The Minister said this would help to reduce post-harvest losses and improve the competitiveness of Ghanaian farmers in both domestic and international markets.

In addition to these measures, he said the government is also promoting the use of value chains to add value to agricultural products and create new opportunities for rural entrepreneurs.

He said it includes initiatives such as the establishment of agro-processing zones and the promotion of small-scale agro-processing businesses.

Dr Acheampong noted that PFJ 2.0 programme is expected to have a significant impact on rural livelihoods, as it will provide farmers with the tools and resources they need to increase their incomes and improve their food security.

The Minister said the initiative was a call to action for the youth, the largest constituency, to partner with the government to reconstruct the country’s agricultural system and ensure food security.

Mrs Mavis Hawa Koomson, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, said Agrifest was a young innovation towards the Farmers’ Day and lauded the Minister for Food and Agriculture for the efforts towards the programme.

She called on all stakeholders to join forces to honour the hardworking farmers, “who without, there would not be any food on the table”, adding: “Let’s do this in a grand style”.

4 main components

The four main components are Crops and Block Farm, Livestock and Poultry, Fisheries and Aquaculture as well as Agribusiness.

Livestock and poultry

Under Livestock and Poultry, the component targets young unemployed men and women to take to production of livestock and poultry – broilers, layers, guinea fowls and piggery.

Beneficiary youth will be assisted with day-old chicks in the case of broilers, layers and guinea fowls, and also provided with housing, feeding, drugs and vaccine until they are weaned off the Programme in about a year.

Similarly, breeding sows and pigs together with the other inputs will be provided.

There is also a programme for other animals such as cattle, sheep and goats and other stocks such as rabbit and grasscutter, with the participating farmers being trained since animal production is a specialised area.

Maize, rice, and vegetables

The target commodities under this intervention would include maize, rice, and vegetables.

However, if all the 400,000 hectares are used for rice cultivation alone, Ghana will exceed food self-sufficiency production target of 1.8 million metric tonnes in two years instead of the five-year plan under the PFJ.

Permanent work for 200,000 youth 

The initiative targets to put 200,000 youth into permanent work in agriculture with each individual cultivating an average farm size of 10 acres.

400,000 hectares

This will mean putting 400,000 hectares of arable land under cultivation.

Key objectives

YIAP has the task and responsibility of mobilizing the youth to take up farming and its other related activities as a lifetime vocation.

By so doing the following benefits will be derived from the employment for the youth, through the provision of tractor services and agro–inputs.

It has the objective of making youth accept farming as a commercial business venture, generate appreciable income to meet farmers’ domestic and personal needs and improve the standard of living of the youth through improved income.

It is also to motivate the youth to stay in rural areas, as inputs will be delivered at their farm gate, on credit basis and interest-free to produce enough food crops, meat and fish using modem methods.

Any person interested in farming, groups of young men and women in the community interested in farming and any institution which trains farmers can take advantage of the initiative.

The initiative will assist the youth to be empowered in producing enough food crops, meat and fish by adopting modern agronomic practices and farming methods.

The 39th edition of the National Farmers’ Day celebration on the theme, “Delivering Smart Solutions for Sustainable Food Security and Resilience”, will be held on the campus of the University of Mines and Technology, Western Region on Friday December 1, 2023.

Source: Elvis DARKO, Accra