Government reviving agricultural extension services

Mr Kennedy Osei Nyarko, Deputy Minister for Agriculture in charge of perennial crops, has said government was actively reviving agricultural extension services towards boosting food and agricultural raw material security.

He said government had procured pickup trucks and motorbikes to be distributed to the various assemblies to enhance the work of the extension officers.

Mr Nyarko said this at a day’s workshop on the Modernisation of Agriculture in Ghana (MAG) programme, a five year sector support initiative funded by the Canadian Government.

He said government’s agriculture centred initiatives would help develop a robust value chain, and expressed appreciation to the Government of Canada for the MAG programme, acknowledging its support both in the areas of policy direction and implementation.

The Minister said the Planting for Food and Jobs programme realised significant returns in 2017, and that the initiative would be expanded to cover 500,000 farmers this year.

He therefore asked farmers to take advantage of the support programmes and work towards sustaining the food and agricultural sector of the economy.

The MAG programme supports the agric sector through modernised extension services with a focus on capacity building and knowledge transfer.

Madam Ruby Neils-Palme, a MAG coordinator noted that adequate knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders was crucial to the success of the programme, and asked them to share performance indicators and targets with beneficiary institutions.