THE OVERLORD of Dagbon, Ndan Ya-Na Abukari II, has expressed appreciation to the government through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture headed by Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, for the implementation of laudable policies and programmes in the agricultural sector.
Major policies including the Planting For Food and Jobs (PFJ), according to him, has made positive impact on his subjects under his traditional jurisdiction, saying that the people of Dagbon have benefitted from the government’s policies and programmes in the sector.
The Ya-Na made the remarks when the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto and his entourage paid a courtesy call on him at his Gbewaa Palace, Yendi, in the Northern Region.
He said the government’s decision to prioritise agriculture, through the provision of inputs and other resources was in the right direction, stressing that agriculture is the mainstay of the country’s economic development.
He said apart from the PFJ, the government introduced others like Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD), Mechanisation, Greenhouse amongst others, have benefited most of his subjects and therefore encouraged the ministry to continue to consolidate such policies in order to sustain their impacts on the development of the people.
“I can say without doubt that my people have benefitted a lot from your policies and programmes, especially the seed and fertiliser supplies which have seen massive improvement since your government assumed power in 2017,” the King of Dagbon emphasised.
He said that despite the numerous initiatives and interventions, poverty and unemployment still abound amongst his people and largely in the northern sector, and charged the government and the ministry to double their efforts in tackling the myriad of development challenges facing the country.
Responding, the Agric Minister commended the Ya-Na for fostering peace and development in the Dagbon Traditional Area.
The minister reiterated the commitment of the Akufo-Addo-led NPP government to ensure that there is persistent implementation of the laudable policies and programmes in the agricultural sector.
He said the government through the support of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has introduced several programmes such as the Savanna Accelerated Productivity Improvement Programme (SAPIP), Savanna Infrastructural Programme (SIP) amongst others, which are specifically targeted at the five northern regions as a result of the regions contribution to the development of agriculture in the country.