A section of the participants at the review meeting
CABINET WILL soon consider a new bill to create Crop Development Authority intended to facilitate and promote the production, marketing and licensing of food crops in the country.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, who announced this, said major staple food crops, including maize, rice, sorghum, soybean and vegetables are expected to come under the authority to ensure increased production and quality of the produce.
He was speaking in Kumasi at the 2018/2019 agricultural Joint Sector Review (JSR) meeting aimed at building consensus on how to consolidate success chalked and tackle challenges in the sector in moving forward.
The JSR meeting was attended by representatives of development partners, allied Ministries, District Assemblies, Regional Coordinating Councils, private sector and civil society groups.
The Minister said the Crop Development Authority bill, when passed into law, will among other things, help increase and expand the productive capacity of the agricultural sector as a basis for poverty reduction and wealth creation through value chain development and industrialization.
He explained that the authority will work in similar fashion like the Ghana Cocoa Board which regulates marketing of cocoa, coffee and sheanut.
According to him, the NPP government, upon assumption of office, saw that the state of Ghana’s agriculture was far from desirable, adding that what was more disturbing was the fact that the potential existed to transform the agriculture into a solid growth pole for accelerated development.
This picture, he noted, propelled government through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) to come up with innovative ideas that brought forth the flagship programme – Planting for Food and Jobs.
“Consistent with Government’s strategy of comprehensively addressing the problems of the agricultural sector, five modules have been developed and are being rolled out,” Dr Akoto stated.
He mentioned the modules as the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ), Planting for Export and Rural Development, Rearing for Food and Jobs, Greenhouse villages and mechanization.
He disclosed that in spite of some constraints, the passionate and focused implementation of the PFJ has paid good dividends – phenomenal increase in yields for the selected value chains.
“Associated with this are the on-farm and off-farm jobs that continue to be created under the programme,” he indicated.
From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi