Peasant farmers urged not to abandon farming

Miss Victoria Adongo, a Programme Coordinator of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), on Thursday urged peasant farmers, especially young farmers in the Western Region, not to abandon their farms and fishing, for menial jobs in the oil industry.

She said the region could experience food insecurity because of the rush investors were buying arable lands for estate development and fish output had decreased as a result of the oil rig.

Miss Adongo made the call at a day's civil society analysis workshop on the 2015 budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector, organized by the PFAG, with support from the Open Society Initiative in West Africa (OSIWA) in Takoradi.

She appealed to farmers and district departments of Agriculture, to promote small-scale Agriculture in their areas, and to ensure District Assemblies make adequate budgetary allocation for their development.

In a press release signed by Mr. Charles Nyaaba, a Programme Coordinator of PFAG, the Association appeal to government to place a moratorium on the passage of the Plant Breeders’ Bill, while creating the platform for small-scale farmers and other stakeholders to address public concerns on the Bill.

The Association urged government to ensure that the Bio-safety Authority is put in place, to actively monitor the activities of the National Bio-safety Committee public.

“We call for direct dialogue between the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs and the PFAG to address the concerns of small scale farmers including the traditional rights to select, store and share seeds”, it said.

The Association said if its plea is not heeded by Parliament, it would continue to use all legal opportunities available to make its position known to the Ghanaian citizenry.

“We will have no option than to call on farmers, traditional authorities, faith-based organizations, civil society organizations and consumers in general, to draw their attention on the dangers in passing the Plant Breeders’ Bill as it stands”.