As part of the government’s policy to transform the agriculture sector for self-sufficiency, the Minister convened the stakeholders to discuss the issues that affect the sector and to reset it.
Setting the ball rolling at the meeting at the ministry’s conference room, Davies Korboe, the Chairman of the National Farmers and
Fishermen Award Winners Association (NFFAWAG) stated that the Farmers’ Day celebration is always overtaken by politicians. The parade is made up of politicians wading off the farmers to have a feel of the activities.
Gone are the days when it was said that farmers are illiterate, Chairman said, today, there are a lot of professionals who have ventured into farming and contributing meaningfully into the national discourse.
He further said there is low investment in the agricultural sector, however, called on the government to giving funds to the farmers. He explained that farmers do not use the funds for their intended purposes but to invest and produce for the people in the country. He called for encouragement and support for the tree diversification project.
To end his submission, he said galamsey, estate developers and sand wining activities are wrecking the sector. He urged the ministry to actively make it a great concern to curb these challenges to avail the lands for production.
Discussing the issue of irrigation and seeds as one of the core pillars of production, Dr. Felix Kamassa, the CEO of Maphlix Trust Farms said good seeds and irrigation are problematic to farmers that hinders food security in the country.
According to him, viable seeds determine the yields of a farmer, therefore, the Seed Council at the ministry should be accessible to farmers on the right and improved seeds to plant during the planting season.
“Ghana has about 500 irrigation projects, some of which World Bank started and were abandoned in the bush, can we visit those places, rehabilitate those facilities than looking for another avenue to create new site for irrigation sector?”, he quizzed.
He concluded that irrigation is very vital to all the crops in the production, being mango, cocoa, banana, maize not only to vegetables.
In the rice sector, Nana Adjei Ayeh II, the President of Ghana Rice Interprofessional Body issued that rice is a viable commodity that forms about 80% of our cuisine, yet nobody cares about it.
He said the Interprofessional Body wants market availability for the local rice production in the sense that the government institutions like the schools, prison services, hospitals should patronise the made in Ghana rice.
Adding her voice to the issues concerning the rice sector, Madam Mabel Akoto-Kwudzo of Okata Farms stated that Ghana spends millions of dollars importing rice. She mentioned that she alone manages 300 acres of rice and employs 300 women to work on the farm.
In concur with the President in the sense of government’s patronage in the locally produced rice, she noted that the local rice contains all the nutritional values than the imported ones.
She, therefore, urged the government to patronise the locally produce rice for the state institutions to address importation gap and to reduce dependency.
Delving into the livestock sector, the President of the Cattle Farmers Association, Imam Hanafi Sunde raised concerns of the livestock sector being left out in the agricultural sector.
He stated that the government should resolve the farmer-herder conflict which is causing human lives in the country. He mentioned issues related to livestock data, animal health, and the movement of animals from neighbouring countries and called for solutions.
In responds to the plight of the stakeholders to reset the agriculture sector to revamp the country’s economy, the Deputy Agric Minister-designate, John Setor Dumelo, speaking on behalf of the Minister Hon. Eric Opoku, Hon. Dumelo assured the farmers of their challenges being addressed.
He underscored the government’s commitment to working hard to resetting the economy as agriculture is the backbone to the economic recovery. He noted that the challenges are much concern and priority to the Ministry.
Speaking to Agric Today in an interview, he outlined how the government has plan to support and aid the sector to thrive, pointing to a number of policy initiatives and strategies that would be implemented in the coming months and years.
He emphasized that addressing the challenges would take time, but the government would focus on resolving as many as possible, particularly the key and most urgent issues that are threatening the sector’s sustainability.
