The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says the government will work to consolidate the gains made in the agricultural sector.
That would be done through the implementation of equitable and sustainable food systems to improve the nation’s food security, he said.
The President noted that the need to build a robust food system that could withstand shocks was of the greatest importance, saying, “consolidating and strengthening our food systems has become even more critical in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
"Obviously, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt the global food supply chain which has exposed the vulnerability of the food systems worldwide,” President Akufo-Addo added.
National Farmers Day
Addressing a durbar yesterday to mark the National Farmers Day celebration in the Central regional capital, Cape Coast, President Akufo-Addo recounted the various policy and programme interventions over the past five years, indicating that since 2017 the government had set up a plan to transform the agricultural sector through investments in integrated and mutually reinforcing measures which were yielding positive results.
The celebration was to recognise the unique role farmers and fishers play in the developmental efforts of the country. In all, 165 farmers and fishers were rewarded, including the Best Farmer, Best Fisher, Best Cocoa Farmer, Best Young Farmer, among others.
On the theme: “Planting for Food and Jobs — Consolidating Food Systems in Ghana”, the celebration had regional and district editions held across the country.
Some of the sponsors of the national event are the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), the headline sponsor, and Stanbic Bank Ghana Ltd.
Pillar
"The central pillar of government’s transformative policy through the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme has been strategically designed to take advantage of the huge potential in the agricultural sector," President Akufo-Addo stated.He said agricultural mechanisation had also been identified as an important intervention to increase efficiency in the sector.President Akufo-Addo said complementary programmes such as the revitalisation of the National Food Buffer Stock Company to improve market access as well as investments in warehouses to store farm produce had been undertaken.Additionally, he said, the One Village, One Dam policy to increase water availability for all-year production and the One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiatives to promote industrialisation had all contributed to the successes chalked up by the government in the agricultural sector. Impressive gains "The record in the agricultural sector is very impressive,” the President said, adding that "we have achieved a yearly average […]
