Government will not introduce new polices in Agric Sector – Minister

Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Afriyie Owusu Akoto has disclosed that his Ministry will not introduce new policies in the second term of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government but will rather focus on strengthening the existing programmes.

Dr Afriyie Akoto said four years is not enough to expect a total transformation of Ghana’s agricultural sector.

Addressing the media in Kumasi, the Agric Minister said policies initiated by the government is yet to hit their peak period of production although a lot of successes have been achieved under the programmes like Planting for Food and Export, Planting for Food and Jobs among several others.

In the first term of the ruling NPP government, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Afriyie Owusu Akoto introduced a number of policy interventions to address the ailing sector.

The policy interventions include Planting for Food and Jobs, Planting for Export, Rearing for Food, Cocoa Hand Pollination and Free Distribution of Improve Seedlings to Domestic and Commercial farmers.

These policies have ensured food security in the country enabling some local farmers to export some of their harvested produce such as maize, plantain, and vegetables to other neighbouring countries of Ghana.

Amidst the successes, the sector minister, Dr Afriyie Akoto believes there’s enough to do to address several other challenges affecting the effective growth of the sector.