John Agyekum Kufuor
The government has been asked to collaborate with developing partners to invest in proper land development of lowlands and valley bottoms to boost and sustain rice production.
A consultant with John Agyekum Kufuor (JAK) Foundation, Mathew Armah, who made the call, said this would help tackle the weak skill capacities in developing lowlands with requisite water regulatory structures for rice cultivation in the country.
Presenting findings of a research at a workshop on mechanisation at a public-private partnership for competitive and inclusive rice value chain by the JAK Foundation, he stated that the government also needed to promote the use of equipment such as skid shredders, mulchers and laser levelers for land development.
He indicated that poor land development of rice fields as a result of tree stumps, roots, debris was creating barriers for the effective use of farm equipment.
According to the consultant, the research revealed high cost and inadequate supply of appropriate farm machinery, inadequate mechanisation service providers and leasing companies, and poor after sales service providers.
For him, the problems could be addressed by the government providing credit and subsidy schemes for farmers to acquire appropriate farm equipment, providing tax relief to service providers who service smallholder farmers.
Mr. Armah said the government could also provide tax waivers to local agents and dealers of spare parts to set up satellite spare parts depots in farming communities.
The Director of Agriculture at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Dr. Solomon Gyan Ansah said there was the need for proper coordination to improve the policy tradeoffs faced by the country in the production of rice.
According to him, policy coordination remains weak, while the use of mechanisation for rice production is limited in the country.
He indicated that there was the need for public-private collaboration to address these challenges to improve rice production and reduce its import.
The Policy Adviser of JAK Foundation, Nana Ama Oppong-Duah called for agriculture machinery to be tailored to the specific needs of farmers in a particular region.
She observed that government policy strategies and campaigns over the years had sought to promote rice production to address food security, poverty reduction and import substitution.
She, however, indicated that the sector was seriously faced with key infrastructure deficits such as lack of efficient irrigation schemes, poor storage facilities and roads, as well as poor access to appropriate machinery and equipment.
Mrs. Oppong-Duah said this continuously diminishes efficiency and productivity, hence the workshop for stakeholders to learn about existing public-private partnership in the rice value chain.
“It is against this background that JAKF, acting as a consortium partner to AGRA and BMZ in implementing the Public-Private Partnership for Competitive & Inclusive Rice Value Chain Development: Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) — The Rice Chapter, sought to influence and impact policy on mechanisation and infrastructure delivery for rice production,” she posited.
By Ernest Kofi Adu