$120m boost for planting for food & jobs programme

Ghana’s Planting for Food & Jobs programme will get a $120 million (125 million Canadian Dollars) investment from the Canadian government.

A deal for the release of the grant was agreed and signed between the two countries recently.

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta represented the government of Ghana while the Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, Ms Heather Anne Cameron represented her country.

Launching the programme in January, Minister of Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto said the programme is scheduled take off in March 2017, and the next farming season expected to create over 750,000 jobs for the youth.

“We need to generate more wealth in the agricultural sector to be able to improve the livelihood of our farmers and fisher folk, and help grow the national economy. It is in recognition of this that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in its manifesto of 2016, promised to modernise agriculture. In this regard, the government of President Nana Akufo-Addo plans to launch a national campaign with the slogan: ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’. This campaign is designed to encourage all citizens both urban and rural, to take up farming as a full-time and part-time activity. It is intended to structure it along the lines of operation Feed Yourself Programme in the 1970s. This year, the spearhead of the campaign will involve the production of rice, soya beans, sorghum and vegetables. Other crops will be adopted in subsequent years,” the Minister said.

The programme is akin to the Operation Feed Yourself campaign launched by the Acheampong regime in the 1970s to make Ghana self-sufficient in food supply.

The Planting for Food & Jobs programme will be operating under five main components: supply of improved seedlings, provision of fertilisers, extension services, marketing for produce and e-agriculture. Ms Cameron said Canada agreed to support the programme after a number of meetings with the government of Ghana.