Accra, Nov 12, GNA – Mr Yaw Frimpong Addo, the Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), says the government will implement policies and programmes to consolidate the gains made under the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme to ensure food security.
He said that would be done by increasing fertiliser supply through enhanced public-private partnership, deployment of more agriculture extension officers to support farmers and the use of modern agriculture technologies and improved seeds.
Mr Addo said this when he received GHC90,000 and 15 motorised mistblowers [insecticide sprayers] from three organisations in Accra in support of this year’s National Farmers’ Day celebration on December 3.
This year’s celebration is on the theme, “planting for food and jobs, consolidating Ghana’s food systems in Ghana.”
Broadspectrum, a digital agricultural financial services firm, presented a cheque for GHC80,000 to the Ministry while Calli Ghana, an agrochemicals supplier, also presented GHC10,000.
The insecticide sprayers were donated by K. Badu Agrochemicals.
The Deputy Minister said, “We are going to maintain the subsidy regime with improved seeds for smallholder farmers and that will help us achieve bumper harvest this coming here. So, we will have food sufficiency, and the fisheries department, animal husbandry and every programme that we are pursuing will complement our efforts.”
He said the Ministry was also introducing the use of drones in agriculture, saying, “We need to move up a bit to meet the demands of agric everywhere in the world, and once we get on the way, with technology, agric extension officers, and the timely supply of fertilisers, we are good to go.”
Recently, farmer bodies, including the Ghana Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), and Esoko, an agriculture technology and research firm, raised concerns over food security in the country.
They raised issues, including inadequate and untimely supply of fertiliser to farmers, challenges in the transportation, processing and storage value chain, which they said were threatening food security in the country.
Mr Addo said government was addressing all concerns and on track in ensuring food security for the country.
He said soon, government would establish a fertiliser manufacturing plant to permanently deal with the issues of inadequate fertiliser supply to farmers and thanked the organisations for the donations.