By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has indicated that the second phase of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme is poised to continue the transformation of Ghana’s agricultural landscape.
According to him, his government has shifted the approach from a subsidy policy to an input credit system that accommodates all participants in the agricultural value chain.
The PFJ programme, he said, places strong emphasis on commercial agriculture, with a cascading effect on all stakeholders, from production to processing, distribution, and marketing.
This comprehensive approach will stimulate economic activities within the sector, generate employment, support industrialisation, boost exports, increase incomes, foster rural development, and propel overall economic growth, Prez. Akufo-Addo mentioned.
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 categorised into grains, roots and tubers, vegetables, and poultry”.
He added that Phase Two of the Programme also seeks to improve service delivery to maximise 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 President disclosed further that key elements of the new phase also include an input credit system that provides farmers with access to inputs such as seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, and other support services for improving productivity and yield, as well as storage infrastructure and logistic hub to improve storage and distribution of produce to reduce post-harvest losses.
In a meeting he held with International Partners to discuss the food and agriculture sector of Ghana’s economy, on Thursday, 26th October 2023, the president said, “We anticipate that, by the end of the five-year implementation period, Ghana will have achieved enhanced food security and established a strong comparative advantage in the production of diverse cash and food crops and poultry products.”
“Additionally, we aim to competitively leverage the opportunities presented by the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA),” the president stressed.
President Akufo-Addo launched Phase II of the Planting for Food and Jobs programme at the University for Development Studies in Tamale on Monday, August 28, 2023.
Targeted at building on the successes of the initial programme, the second phase of the programme is a five-year master plan for the transformation of agriculture in Ghana with focus on modernisation through the development of a selected commodity value chain and active private sector participation.
