By: Lindsay Abbey Mensah
The government through its Presidential Initiatives in Agriculture and Agribusiness (PIAA) has launched the School Farm Initiative. The project seeks to transform Senior High Schools across the country into hubs of food production, experiential learning and agricultural innovation.
At the launch in Accra, the Chief of Staff, Mr. Julius Debrah reaffirmed government’s commitment to support PIAA by providing enabling policies, logistics and national coordination.
Mr. Debrah urged parents, teachers and students to embrace the School Farm Intiative as a movement of national pride and food security.
The Chief of Staff, called on the Ghana Education Service to promote agriculture in schools as practical learning, not punishment.
The Director of Presidential Initiatives in Agriculture and Agribusiness, Dr. Peter Boamah Otokunor emphasized that, the initiative addresses Ghana’s food security needs while significantly reducing the cost burden in providing adequate, healthy and nutritious food for students.
He added, the School Farm Initiative will among other things help reduce dependency on imported food crops, conserve foreign exchange, generate sustainable employment opportunities and minimize post-harvest losses.
The initiative is targeting over 15,000 acres across 700 plus Senior High Schools, to produce livestock and cultivate strategic food crops to support the nutritional needs of students.
