The data, according to the Ministry will guide policy-makers in the disbursement of resources to promote agriculture in the rural areas.

The exercise, which will take place across all 216 districts in the country, will have enumerators collect data of households and institutions engaged in crop production, livestock, aquaculture and tree planting.

In a speech read by Director of Policy Planning Monitoring and Evaluation at the Ministry of Information, Patricia Dovi Samson, on his behalf, in Bolgatanga at the ‘training of trainers’ Agric Minister, Owusu Afriyie Akoto said the census when completed will provide reliable statistics for planning and monitoring food security and livelihood improvements.

Mrs. Patricia Dovi said the data to be collected will provide current information on the structure of agriculture in the country which is vital to the re-basing of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product(GDP).

“The data will also provide statistics on agriculture for policymakers to allocate public resources effectively and to better identify, prepare, implement and evaluate developmental projects aimed at promoting agriculture in rural areas.

“It will again provide current information to help fight environmental issues at the community level and provide relevant information for use by stakeholders including farmers, researchers and international organizations” Mrs. Dovi stated.

Upper East Regional Director of Food and Agriculture Francis Ennor, said the exercise will provide data on community facilities such as roads, hospitals and schools, among other things for proper policy interventions  to propel the development of farmers in the rural areas.

He urged all stakeholders in the agricultural sector to support government get accurate data that will harness agriculture growth and food security of Ghana.

Upper East Regional Minister Rockson Bukari said the last time a census of agriculture conducted in Ghana was in 1985, adding that, government’s quest for another census formed part of Akufo Addo’s vision of making Agric the backbone of economic growth in the country.

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Speaking to the press after his Aggrey-Fraser-Guggisberg Memorial lecture at the University of Ghana, Prof. Akyeampong bemoaned Africa’s dependence on food aid from the West and China when it has vast arable lands.

He proposed an industrialized economic structure driven by agribusiness as Africa’s key to development.

“We can’t feed ourselves; we are dependent on food imports and on food aid. Countries outside Africa including China and Arab countries are very interested in Africa land because they are concerned about their own food security. We are people who beg while we are holding a golden bowl. We sit on all these lands and mineral resources that people are looking at.”

“I think we have to first of all begin by feeding ourselves and by bringing agriculture to that level of efficiency so that agriculture begins to provide that first line of agric-based business. In Africa, what we are seeing is a decline in agriculture. We are more inefficient as farmers today than we were at the colonial days yet we seem not only to have declined in agriculture, we have skipped manufacturing to go into service – telecommunications, cell phones, media and all that. I have also pointed out that no country has developed by skipping manufacturing.”

Prof. Emmanuel Akyeampong also called for rural infrastructure to support mechanized agriculture; something he says the government of Ghana is exploring.

Prof. Akyeampong made the remark ahead of his presentation at the Aggrey-Fraser-Guggisberg Memorial lecture at the University of Ghana on Friday, on the theme: “African socialism; or the search for an indigenous model of economic development in Ghana?”

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He said the time has come for the country to inculcate the habit of farming from infancy so that the children would no longer see farming as a prohibitive profession to pursue when they grow up.

Nana Kofi Koomson made the call when he interacted with a group of school children and pressmen at Gomoa-Pomadze, near Gomoa-Asebu on issues, bothering the teaching of agriculture in the country’s educational institutions.

He said that, if the various forms of agriculture were effectively introduced to children right from infancy they would accept and firmly embrace it as a lifelong profession even before they completed their respective academic programmes in higher places of learning.

Nana Kofi Koomson warned that failure to train and sustain the interest of the next generation in agriculture would cause the nation a serious setback in her socio-Economic development in the foreseeable future.

He said ‘’we should let the younger generation particularly the school going children realize that the time parents and children regarded weeding as punishment was gone forever”.

Nana Koomson expressed the hope that teaching the nation’s future administrators and other professionals Agriculture, would really yield fruitful results for the country.

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Source: GNA

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The regional ceremony took place at Ntotroso on the theme:”Farming for Foods and Jobs”.

Robert Sarfo Mensah was presented with a tricycle, two spraying machines, two pairs of Wellington boots, three cutlasses, two bars of key soap and a certificate as his prize.

Anthony Mensah, the Asutifi North District Chief Executive (DCE) who presided over the event in the region, congratulated all farmers in the district for their invaluable contributions to producing food for the country.

He noted that, government is making efforts to invest in agriculture with its industrialization drive to create the much-needed link between industry and agriculture.

He cited the government’s flagship programmes such as planting for foods and jobs, one district-one factory, one district-one warehouse, one district-one dam, and one constituency, one million dollars as examples of plans to improve agriculture in the country.

He also encouraged the farmers to take advantage of the initiatives.

He noted that the Assembly had taken delivery of fertilizers and improved seeds at a subsidized price for over 2,000 farmers, under the planting for food and jobs programme, and regretted that only 412 farmers have so far assessed the facility.

The DCE observed that over-dependence on traditional methods of farming remained a hindrance to accelerated agricultural growth in the area, and called on farmers to embrace and adopt modern farming techniques to improve their farming activities.

The District Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), James Adu, in his welcome address, lamented the dwindling contribution of the agricultural sub-sector to the country’s GDP, and blamed the situation on inadequate extension officers and logistical constraints.

Whilst commending farmers in the district for producing enough to feed residents, he tasked them to venture into the production of yam and rice whose production is on the low in the district.

The District Best Farmer, who is also the current Director General of the National Sports Council, thanked the government and pledged to personally sponsor an award for the best backyard garden farmer next year, as his contribution to the development of agriculture in the country.

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The 50-year-old picked up a $100,000 cash prize at the 33rd National Farmers Day celebration at the Heroes Park in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, which was under the theme, ‘Farming for food and jobs’.

This marks the first time the overall winner has been awarded such a cash amount. In previous years, the winners were awarded houses at locations of their choice.

Mt. Agyeman, noted to have attained only basic education, has been farming for the past 28 years and currently has over 200 employees.

Both runner-ups at the 2017 Farmers Day Celebration were women; Mabel Akoto Kudjoe from Hohoe in the Volta Region was named first runner-up, while Rebecca Ann Commey from the Greater Accra Region came third.

The three were among close to 90 farmers who were honoured on the day.

President Nana Akufo-Addo was present at the ceremony and was accompanied by a number of his ministers and appointees.

In his address, he noted that agriculture was seen to be on the brink of collapse as evidenced by its declining contributions to GDP but added that his government was working to turn around the fortunes of Ghana’s once vibrant sector.

The agriculture sector, which has been the mainstay of Ghana’s economy for years, currently contributes only 22 percent to the country’s GDP.

The sector has seen declining investments over the years but President Akufo-Addo said “we can and we should overcome these problems if we keep our focus, ensure efficient and effective implementation of policies and programmes, and fully rally behind the government to give agriculture the decisive impulse it needs to take its pride of place once again.”

The National Farmers’ Day celebration was established by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in 1988, to honour the nation’s hardworking farmers.

On the first Friday of December every year, farmers who excel in their respective fields are awarded prizes such as a house, car, farm implements, certificates and other prizes.

Prizes are awarded to deserving farmers and fishers in order of best practices and outputs.

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According to him, though some farms are still being affected by the fall armyworm, huge acres of infested farms have been recovered through government’s swift intervention of spraying the armyworms.

[contextly_sidebar id=”VIJFBrdKUXwk5y2H8IUB5UGfr0eEA7BI”]Dr. Bambangi disclosed this after visiting 114 acres of maize farms in the Bongo district of the Upper East Region.

He noted that, though records from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture indicated that, since the first case of fall army worm in April 2016, enough measures were not taken to curtail its negative impact on farms.

Nonetheless, the ongoing spraying exercise has led to the recovery of lots of the infested farms, he stated.

“So far, I am impressed by the performance of our spraying programme and that of the farmers. I have been to the Upper West Region and here in the Upper East Region, and have seen the signs of the fall armyworms in the past in a lot of these farms; but I can also see how these farms have recovered.”

Dr. Bambangi intimated further that, projection of a bumper harvest was proof the armyworms have been defeated.

“…we have conquered the fall armyworm because the essence is for us to ensure that the crops recover so if the armyworms have not been able to deprive us of the bumper harvest we are expecting, then we will say we have conquered the armyworms. But we know that there are still remnants of the worms in the system and so we are putting in place medium to long-term measures to avert any future occurrence of the invasion of our farms by fall armyworm.”

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Dr. Afriyie Akoto said the fund could be used to mitigate the plight of farmers in distressed times, like recently where some farmers have been calling for the government’s financial support after their farms were ravaged by armyworms.

In the heat of the armyworm crisis, the government had to release GHc 16 million to combat the pests.

Speaking during a meeting with farmers, Dr. Afriyie Akoto proposed that part of the oil revenue should be used for such a venture.

“I have a very strong belief that we should use those resources [oil revenue] to fund agriculture so your special Agric fund, that is where I am looking to and I want you to help me to direct this to Mr. President,” Dr. Afriyie Akoto said to the farmers.

This is something the Minister noted he pushed for when he was a Member of Parliament for eight years.

He argued further that investing in agriculture aligned with the New Patriotic Party government’s agenda for jobs.

“We should have a significant portion of our oil and gas revenue to set up an agriculture fund. Oil and gas will not give you employment. It will give you the cash, but it won’t give you the employment Ghana desperately needs for our young people.”

“… So we need to exploit and make sure that we have a conscious effort to put a substantial portion of that [oil] revenue aside to support our agriculture and that is the only way we will get out of this problem [of unemployment].”

The 2017 budget earmarked about GHc 450.33 million for the agriculture sector.

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This timely intervention is expected to support the reintroduced ‘Planting for food and jobs’ program.

Canada’s Minister for International Development and La Francophonie, Marie Claude-Bibeau announced the package at the launch of a program codenamed, “Modernizing agriculture in Ghana,” held at Nyankpala in the Tolon district of the Northern Region.

She anticipated that the program would help bring cutting edge innovation to the nation’s agric sector.

She bemoaned the low number of Ghana’s female agric extension officers representation saying, “There are a few female extension officers and only 2% of female-headed households currently receive extension services. We encourage Ghana to seize the opportunity to engagee equitably in agriculture. This will result in multiple effects on your economy.”

She proposed that women into agriculture should be supported to maximize their income levels.

Marie Claude-Bibeau stated that, “Funds will be provided to all districts and regional departments of agriculture, the sector ministry and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.”

“MAG will help to ensure that Ghanaian Scientists are aware of the tools they need to find innovative solutions. It will ensure that the promising findings move more effectively from the laboratory to the farm,” she stressed.

She emphasized the need to use a chunk of the support for the delivery of agric extension services nationwide.

“This is because of the critical role extension agents play in helping farmers to benefit from research and innovations,” she explained.

A Minister of State at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Nurah Gyiele admitted the nation’s agric extension services weakness.
He attributed the situation to poor extension officers numerical strength and promised an overturn.

According to him, government recruited 1,200 youth under the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) to shoot up the number of agric extension agents.

“We have put in a request to the National Service Secretariat to assign 2,160 graduates from our universities to do their services in the various district assemblies as extension officers.”

Dr. Gyiele tasked beneficiary institutions of the MAG program to intensify their efforts and work collaboratively to ensure its successful implementation.

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The Planting for Food and Jobs is expected to be rolled out in all 216 districts across the country, and will involve the supply of farm resources such as high yielding and improved seedlings to participating farmers.

Following the announcement of the project in January, government has outlined a number of targets, and the critical component of the initial capital for the programme.

The infographic below captures some of these estimates.

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He therefore urged private investors and governments to consider agriculture as a business and invest in it to achieve the desired socio-economic development and reduce poverty in Africa.

Mr Annan said this when he visited the Rural Technology Facility (RTF) at Mankessim in the Mfantseman Municipality of the Central Region to access progress of work under the Rural Enterprise Programme (REP).

The REP is a poverty alleviation scheme funded under a loan agreement between the Government of Ghana (GoG) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) through capacity building and entrepreneurship drive for beneficiaries.

According to the Former UN Secretary General, agriculture should further be explored as it could create reliable jobs in every chain of production and advised the youth to see it as a life-long occupation.

Mr Annan said in developed countries, real jobs were created by the small and medium scale enterprises and admonished governments to assist individuals to set up their own businesses.

Mr. Kwasi Attah-Antwi, National Director of REP, said the main focus of REP was to establish an institutional framework that ensured the sustainable delivery of services aimed at transforming and improving the livelihood of people in the rural areas.

He said the REP emphasised on skills training and provision of facilities for business enterprise development.

The REP operated on four main components of ensuring business development services, technology promotion in agribusiness activities to enhance access to finance through financial institutions and strengthening support system within the public and private sector.

Mr. Attah-Antwi said REP had created 34,402 new jobs, established 27,702 new businesses and had positively affected the lives of about 140,000 people since 2012.

He said REP was targeting tertiary unemployed graduates interested in agribusiness in selected agricultural value chains and supported them through the Empowering Novel Agribusiness-Led Employment for Youth (ENABLE YOUTH) Programme.

The European Union(EU) Ambassador to Ghana, Mr William Hanna said the EU would continue to support the training of the youth in entrepreneurship.

He indicated that the EU was in discussion with the new Government for an increased support to small and medium scale enterprises in agribusiness.

Mrs Esther Kasalu-Coffin, IFAD country Director, admonished the facilitators of REP to educate the beneficiaries on how they could access funds to expand their businesses to employ more people.

She said the success of the REP was a clear demonstration of transforming and improving the livelihoods of people in the rural communities.

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Source: GNA

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