Minister honored for the revival of agriculture

Company News of Monday, January 21, 2019

Source: dailyguideafrica.com

2019-01-21

The Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, was honored for leading the revival of agriculture in the country.

Afriyie Akoto, Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Cambridge, England, was recognized by the Ghana Chamber of Agri-Food Industries for successfully overseeing the implementation of the Planting for Food program. and Jobs (PJF) from the NPP government.

Experts say the implementation of the program is showing positive results for the country.

At a brief presentation ceremony in his office in Accra on Friday, the minister received a quote that read as follows: "For the revolution, they say, this comes in small form. Planting to feed and create jobs is considered the most remarkable program, given its importance in Ghana's economy. "

"The Ghana Agri-Food Chamber has therefore rewarded the PFJ for its euphoria, enthusiasm and unprecedented coverage and unprecedented opportunities in the sector."

The minister dedicated the award to ministry staff and all hard working farmers in the country.

Last week, a French weekly "Agri News" dedicated to Africa warmly congratulated the minister for changing the direction of agriculture in Ghana.

"The situation of agriculture is improving considerably as Ghana becomes an exporter of the sub-region. The results are related to the proper deployment of the PFJ. "

Before Dr. Afriyie Akoto was appointed to lead the ministry in early 2017 by President Akufo-Addo, the sector's growth rate hovered around 3.0%, but the judicious implementation of policies and programs allowed in the sector to reach an impressive rate of 8.4% in 2017 with the 2018 figures still to be published.

The policy of the PFJ is based on five main pillars and includes the provision of improved seeds to farmers at subsidized prices (50% subsidy), the supply of fertilizer to farmers at subsidized prices (50% reduction in price), free extension services for farmers (1,200 extension workers from the five main agricultural colleges already enrolled in the program, as well as 4,000 additional extension badistants to be mobilized.

The government is also ensuring that there are marketing opportunities for post-harvest products and e-agriculture, a technological platform for monitoring and tracking farmers' activities and progress through a database system.

The main crops in the initial pilot phase are maize, rice, soybean, sorghum and tomatoes, onions and chilli.