Planting for Food and Jobs revolutionising agric in Ghana
Agriculture is the mainstay of our economy and is the major source of employment with an estimated half of the population engaged in it.
In spite of this, the GDP growth of the agricultural sector over the years dwindled in recent times to an all-time low of 3.6 in 2016 but shot up to 8.5 per cent in 2018.
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The shoot up of the GDP in the sector, according to experts, could be attributed to the introduction of radical approaches to solve the dwindling fortunes in the agricultural sector.
Notable among these radical approaches has been the introduction of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) and its associated modules such as the Rearing for Food and Jobs (RFJ), Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD), Agricultural Mechanisation for Food and Jobs and the Greenhouse programme.
The concept of the PFJ reveals a policy that has been introduced by the government to address the declining growth of the country’s agricultural sector.
The flagship programme with its associated modules have whipped up an overwhelming interest in agriculture, which has the potential of revolutionising the country's economic growth.
All the modules have been purposely designed and tailored for specific needs to facilitate the transformation of Ghana’s agriculture.
The ripple effects of the flagship programme have not been just food sufficiency, security and job creation, but it has triggered the exportation of some food crops to neighbouring countries such as Burkina Faso, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire and Benin.
With the sweeping enthusiasm demonstrated by our farmers for Planting for Food and Jobs, the agriculture sector in Ghana has begun to explore its economic potential through diversification in production and investment in non-traditional crops for maximum economic benefit.
The passion of the sector Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, to transform the national economy on the back of agriculture has ignited the interest of the youth in the country to take agriculture as a business and not just a hand-to-mouth affair.
The renewed interest by the youth in the agricultural sector has resulted in the creation of thousands of jobs along the agric value chain. It has also necessitated the recruitment of about 2,700 agricultural extension officers and 9,000 NaBCo officials.
It is in the light of these that the National Farmers’ Day this year offered a unique opportunity for a collective assessment of the performance and impact on the citizenry and the economy.
It also provided the opportunity to identify key constraints that persist in the sector in order to take measures to enhance further the productivity gains so far achieved under the initiative of the government.
It is in view of the foregoing that the 35th National Farmers’ Day was focused on the theme: ‘Enhancing Small-Scale Agriculture towards
Agribusiness Development’. Agriculture in Ghana has assumed a new dimension under the administration of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The vision of the President to transform agriculture has been eloquently articulated and given expression in plans, policies, programmes and strategies formulated and designed to achieve the desired objective of transformation.
These positive results have reinforced the President’s unwavering conviction that agriculture holds the key to Ghana’s economic transformation.