Action Aid Ghana earmarks $38,000.00 towards food security

Kumasi, June 3, GNA - Action Aid Ghana, an NGO, has earmarked A38,00= 0.00 in support of national food security.

As part of this, farmers would be assisted to acquire improved farming techniques and high yielding seeds.

Dr Queronica Quarley Quartey, Coordinator of the Food Security Policy Advocacy Network (FoodSPAN), made this known at the opening of a two-day capacity building workshop on partnership, social mobilization and project implementation for selected NGOs across the country in Kumasi. Organized jointly by Action Aid Ghana and FoodSPAN, it provided the platform to discuss solutions to problems affecting food security. Dr Quartey said agriculture was vital to Ghana's economic growth an= d therefore there was the need to adopt pragmatic measures to enhance the efficiency of the sector. She described as unacceptable the importation of most food items and urged the government to do everything to make farming more attractive and rewarding. Dr Quartey said farmers, particularly women, engaged in the productio= n of the staples should be supported with credit and fertilizer subsidies. Additionally, they needed to be exposed to simple technologies for food storage to prevent post-harvest losses. She said it was also necessary to ensure that the agricultural extension officer-farmer ratio increased.