President Akufo-Addo has launched Phase II of the Programme for Planting for Food and Jobs at the University of Development Studies, Tamale.
According to him, the objective of the programme is to transform and modernize Ghana’s agriculture through the development of a selected commodity value chain, with active private sector participation.
Speaking at the launch, President Akufo-Addo stated that the second phase, by design, “takes a holistic view and places greater emphasis on value chain approaches by focusing on strengthening linkages between actors along eleven selected agricultural commodity value chains broadly categorized into grains, roots and tuber, vegetables and poultry”.
“On Monday, 28th August 2023, I launched Phase II of the Programme for Planting for Food and Jobs at the University of Development Studies, Tamale. Phase Two of the PFJ Programme is a five-year master plan for the transformation of agriculture in Ghana…”
President Akufo-Addo
Phase II of Planting for Food and Jobs programme to yield high quality inputs
Among other things, the President stated that the five key elements of the second phase of the PFJ Programme, will catalyze the modernization and transformation of Ghana’s agriculture, ensure an input credit system that provides farmers with access to inputs such as seeds fertilizers and pesticides.
Furthermore, President Akufo-Addo stated that the programme will ensure high-quality inputs and other support services for improving productivity and yields, storage infrastructure and logistic hub to improve storage and distribution of produce and reduce postharvest losses.
Additionally, he stated that it will ensure off-taker arrangements/commodity trading to improve farmer access to markets and guarantee fair prices for their crops and a digitized platform for management, monitoring and coordination to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the programme.
He equally expressed that Phase Two of the Programme also seeks to improve service delivery to maximize impact and substitutes direct input subsidy with smart agricultural financial support in the form of comprehensive input credit, with provision for in-kind payment.
“The impact of the Programme is expected to be in the area of job creation, with some one-point-two million (1.2 million) farmers to be enrolled in the first year. In the next four (4) years, the Programme is destined to record an annual average of two hundred and ten thousand (210,000) new farm-related jobs. This will exclude other jobs along the agricultural value chains estimated at an annual average of four hundred and twenty thousand over the same period.”
President Akufo-Addo
Prior to this, Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheampong, hinted that President Akufo Addo will launch phase II of government’s flagship agriculture program: Planting for food and Jobs (PFJ). He stated that the second phase of the program with a five-year plan will shift from small scale farming to relatively large-scale farming to change the landscape of agriculture in Ghana for the program to achieve its target of food security.
Mr Acheampong further highlighted that this is going to be done in collaboration with Chiefs to make lands available for the program. He equally stressed that there are some interventions the second phase of the program will come along with, which includes mechanization and technical support, insurance package and ready market for farmers.
Moreover, Mr Acheampong explained that ten crops and poultry products under the program have been listed to be purchased by Ghana Commodities Exchange Company.
Earlier this year, President Akufo-Addo announced a review of the government’s flagship agric programme, Planting for Food and Jobs. He stated that the new phase of the programme will involve the private sector and getting more youthful participation in the programme.
Speaking at the 4th European Corporate Council on Africa and the Middle East in Italy, President Akufo-Addo emphasized that Ghana is guaranteed food security through this programme.
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