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The government intends to develop commercial agriculture to help meet demand and supply
The government has announced the creation of a Ghana Land Information Bank (GhLIB), to provide a reliable and easily accessible information platform to improve access to land for commercial agriculture.
Leveraging digital technology, it will work more closely with stakeholders to address the structural challenge of commercial farming this year.
The Acting Minister of Finance, who is also Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Leader of Government Affairs, Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, announced the establishment of the bank when he tabled the 2021 Budget Statement and Economic Policy to Parliament on March 12.
He said that to complement the above initiative, the government will also increase the purchase of local products for schools, hospitals and prisons to help expand the market for our farmers.
Some key programs
Taking stock of the key programs outlined in the budget to modernize agriculture and improve productivity, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said the government will step up support for agricultural modernization.
He said successful flagship programs such as Planting for Food and Jobs and Elevage for Food and Jobs (PFJ / RFJ) would continue and their delivery modalities would be improved to make them even more effective and impactful.
“This year, we will put more emphasis on commercial agriculture to increase production and income, as well as employment, especially among educated youth. To this end, the government will ensure that the ongoing irrigation works, under the Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project, are completed on time, ”he said.
These, he said, would support year-round agriculture covering around 7,490 hectares (ha) and provide jobs and sustainable income to communities in the areas, once completed.
Read: Planting for Food and Jobs: A success that others seek to replicate
To improve post-harvest management, he said the government would facilitate the acquisition of combines (5,000 hand and 25 combine) to improve the quality of paddy rice, and build silos with a capacity of 10,000. tonnes in 10 rice-growing districts to maintain the quality of the paddy harvested. rice by the end of 2023.
It will also procure moisture meters, scales and tricycles to improve the quality of the rice and support the functioning of the rice millers.
Read: Diversion of sabotaging fertilizer coupons Planting for Food and Jobs program
Irrigation
In order to improve irrigation and storage facilities to speed up production of major food crops, the goal is to significantly increase the total irrigated area by 2023.
Therefore, with recent increases in capacity in warehouses and the warehouse receipt system, these additions will ensure and increase production and storage throughout the year.
CLA management
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) will purchase 97,000 liters and 14,000 kg of insecticides this year to fight against the fall armyworm (CLA.
Scientifically known as Spodoptera frugiperda, FAW is native to the Americas and is a new pest in Africa that attacks maize but can also feed on a range of other crops including millet, sorghum, rice, wheat, sugar cane and vegetables.
It was reported in April 2016 in the municipality of Yilo Krobo in the Eastern region and in 2017 spread across the country and threatened agriculture and food security.
The pest was initially discovered in a few areas, but since the farmers did not know its nature, they only sprayed the leaves, while the pest was in the stem / hole and therefore spread and destroyed more late about 100% of corn farms.
Sector performance and outloOkay
According to the budget, the MoFA continues to carry out activities within the framework of the National Agricultural Investment Plan – Investing for Food and Employment (IFJ) (2018-2021).
The priority initiatives implemented under the plan are as follows: PFJ; RFJ; Plantation for Export and Rural Development (PERD); Greenhouse villages; and agricultural mechanization.
Other complementary interventions include: irrigation and water management, agricultural marketing and post-harvest management.
Development of crops and livestock
In order to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on food production, the Ministry introduced measures allowing farmers to access production inputs and increased the planned beneficiary target from 1.2 million to 1. , 4 million.
A total of 1,736,510 farmers benefited from subsidized fertilizers and improved seeds under the PFJ program. Improved seeds distributed to farmers increased by 60%, from 18,333 tonnes in 2019 to 29,500 tonnes in 2020.
Likewise, subsidized fertilizers (organic and inorganic), distributed to farmers, also increased by 28%, from 331,354 tonnes in 2019 to 424,000 tonnes in 2020.
The intervention continued to significantly increase the yields of some crops. Maize yields went from a reference level of 1.8 MT / Ha in 2016 to 3.8 MT / Ha in 2019.
Rice yields increased by 59% from 2.7 MT / Ha in 2016 to 4.3 MT / Ha in 2019 and soybean yields increased by 29% from 1.7 MT / Ha in 2016 at 2.2 MT / Ha in 2019.
These results, according to the budget, had improved the country’s self-sufficiency in rice production from a low 30 percent to about 50 percent over the past four years.
“In 2021, the ministry will continue to provide improved seeds and fertilizers to beneficiary farmers. This will ensure a sustainable increase in the yields of maize, rice, soybeans, sorghum, cowpeas and groundnuts and will make Ghana self-sufficient in food production with increased export potential, ”he said. declared.
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