$125m secured for irrigation - Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has revealed that an amount of $125million has been secured from the Canadian government to support a national agricultural campaign dubbed “Planting for food”.

According to him, this initiative, together with others in the sector is aimed at ensuring all year farming through irrigation farming.

Delivering the State of the Nation Address to Parliament on Tuesday, 21 February, Mr Akufo-Addo said: “We have to irrigate our lands and equip farmers with skills needed to make farming a well-paying business. We aim to popularise farming by encouraging many people to take it up as a full- or part-time activity.

“A national campaign, Planting for Food will be launched to stimulate this activity. An amount of 125 million Canadian dollars has been secured from Canada to support the initiative. This campaign will be anchored on the pillars that will transform agriculture - the provision of improved seeds, the supply of fertilisers, the provision of dedicated extension services and marketing strategy, and the use of e-agriculture.

“To initiate the campaign, the district assemblies will be tasked to identify and register progressive farmers in each of the 216 districts. For too long our farmers have been left to cope by themselves without the necessary support from government. For too long our farmers have been left to the mercy of the weather. We have decided to embark on a programme to provide water to enable all-year farming – we are calling it One-Village-One-Dam policy.”