President Nana Akuffo Addo on Monday launched the Phase two (2) of his Government’s flagship programme; Planting for Foods and Job (PFJ II) in Tamale, for another five years.
The PFJ programme, primarily aims to promote food and nutrition securities, create sustainable livelihoods and employment for farmer including youths. However, under the new phase, the programme is hinged on principles of value chain approach; it is private sector focused and market driven with 11 commodities such cereals, grains, vegetable and poultry being prioritized. The Second Module also will require all farmers under the PFJ to be biometrically registered unto a common platform for easy linkages to agri-inputs dealers, credit and market access.
According to President Akuffo Addo, his government through the PFJ is positively responding to the United Nations’ call on member countries to achieve food sufficiency. “Government’s agenda therefore is to invest significantly in agriculture in order to improve on quality of life for all Ghanaians,” he added.
The president while launching the Phase two of the PFJ programme at a fully packed auditorium at the UDS in Tamale, noted that the high dependency on imports, especially foods which the country have a comparative advantage at producing, became a source of worry for his government; hence the PFJ offered an opportunity to reversing the sad trend.
The previous module, President Akuffo Addo mentioned; reached 2.7 million farmers, resulting in food and price stability and raising agricultural growth from 2.7 percent to over 6 percent. It also led to an increase in fertilizer application, increased use of certified seeds as well as soaring private sector investment in the sector.
Among others benefits; the president said under phase two, government although serving as a facilitator through fashioning of the right policies and programme, will also be importing agricultural mechanization facilities and equipment to help realized the overall vision for the agric sector.
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, who is also MP for Abetifi Dr. Byran Achempong the said upon assessment; 1.2 million dollars had been invested in irrigation facilities in the north alone for all year round farming. The second phase of the PFJ seeks to take advantage of this development by reducing import trade which can also be turned into direct local production, particularly commodities like rice and onion and poultry production.
He said PFJ is an innovative and comprehensive approach to addressing bottlenecks such as access to credit, unstructured markets, and low mechanization among others. Dr. Achempong stated that all that is required from the farmer is – access to land and all others will be provided under the programme. These include input access and even ready market for the produce by off-takers.
He added that emphasis is being placed on climate smart agriculture and pleaded with chiefs to make land available for interested farmers.
Still on Planting for Food and Jobs, The Director General of the National Development Planning Commission, Dr. Kodjo Essiem Mensah-Abrampa, has emphasized that agriculture and mining were foundations for the country’s industrial development.
Speaking at the launch of the phase two of the Government’s flagship program; Planting for Food and Jobs in Tamale, the NDPC Director General said, in order to bring food to the table of all Ghanaians, sectors should begin to work in unison.
Dr. Mensah-Abrampah said the NDPC will continue to facilitate the agenda of coordinating development across all sectors and ensuring that agriculture is moved from subsistence level to business levels so that farmers can gain. He also said development must be made inclusive so that no one is left behind.
The Overlord of the Dagbon traditional area, Ya-na Mahama Abukari, who chaired the launch was grateful to the government for the development interventions extended to his area. According to the Dagbon overlord, rice production got impacted positively under the first phase of the PFJ and the chiefs and people were optimistic that the second phase will see a boom.
For his part, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and MP for Damongo, Samuel Abu Jinapor said agriculture can only thrive on an efficient land turner and good governance structure; hence there should be an effective inter-ministerial collaboration and coordination to ensure sustainable land use and management.
The 2022 National Best Farmer, Nana Yaw Sarpong-Siriboe, speaking at the same programme lauded government for the initiative and encourage other farmers to take advantage of the PFJ.
A Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, on behalf of the sector Minister, Dan Kweku Botwe tasked MMDCES to take keen interest in the progress of the Planting for Food and Jobs within their respective localities.
Earlier in his welcoming address, the Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Shani Alhassan Shaibu, noted that the region has high potentials for agricultural growth. According to him, the president’s infrastructural projects will become a booster to attract investors to tap into the 60 percent of the remaining arable lands in the region.
The first module PFJ (Crops) was officially launched by the President; Nana Akufo Addo at Goaso in April, 2017 in the then Brong Ahafo Region.
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