PRESIDENT John Evans Atta Mills yesterday pointed to the agricultural sector as one of the success stories chalked up in his 11-month-old government and asked sceptics who were critical of the regime to look for the evidence in the bumper yields to be recorded this year and next year.
In addition to the promise of record harvests of rice and maize this year, President Mills gave specific targets of 11 million tonnes of cassava, five million tonnes of yam, 1.7 million tonnes of cocoyam and 3.3 million tonnes of plantain achieved this year, describing them as unprecedented in the country’s history.
He attributed the success story to the pragmatic policies of the government and the positive response by farmers, whom he said had been relentless in their efforts to produce enough food for the nation, in spite of the global economic downturn and the effects of climate change.
According to President Mills, Ghana did not experience hunger as was the case in other countries, because farmers in Ghana were on their farms working hard to feed the nation.
The President was speaking at the 25th edition of the National Farmers Day celebrations, which took place at the Jubilee Park in Tamale on the theme: “Accelerated Agricultural Modernisation for Food Security and Economic Transformation.”
He also underscored the fact that the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) was undergoing restructuring to enable it to execute its core mandate of making affordable funding available to the agricultural sector.
He debunked assertions that the fisheries sector was being relegated and said the government had put in place measures that would encourage increase in fish production through aquaculture.
The President said currently, more hatcheries and feed mills were being built around the country and equipment had already been purchased for projects in Kumasi and Sefwi Wiawso.
“Additionally, government is ordering special trucks to safely transport fingerlings from hatcheries to fish ponds all over the country.
“Our plans to construct landing sites and fishing harbours are also on truck,” President Mills added.
He also indicated that much was being done to improve extension services in the fisheries sector and that the government was so far impressed about the way entrepreneurs had embraced the aquaculture concept.
On livestock, the President indicated that he had had bilateral engagement with the President of Argentina and consequently Argentina had declared its preparedness to help re-energise Ghana’s moribund livestock sector.
He also mentioned the Livestock Development Programme, which is designed to increase productivity within the livestock sub-sector.
“It is valued at over $4 million and would benefit over 21,000 livestock farmers nationwide,” he stated.
The President commended various organisations that had contributed to the development of agric over the years and also those that had supported the Silver Jubilee celebration of the Farmers Day.
Before the President’s speech, which was full of commendation for Ghanaian farmers, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, had made an elaborate presentation on the measures the government had taken to transform and mechanise agriculture in the country to boost food security, income generation and poverty alleviation.
In addition, the minister gave the assurance that more than 3,000 tractors were being sourced from Brazil, the United States, India and Japan to augment the existing fleet for higher agricultural production.
In addition to 31 combined harvesters already secured and deployed on the field, Mr Ahwoi said more harvesters were being secured to facilitate the mechanisation of production.
As the pivot around which the government’s economic plan would revolve, agriculture, according to the minister, would continue to attract measures designed to secure and distribute to farmers the requisite farm machinery.
Mr Ahwoi expressed the hope that the increased access to mechanised services by farmers would expand the land area to be cropped from this year’s 11,500 hectares to 240,000 hectares under the block farm programme.
Another important measure, Mr Ahwoi said, was the establishment of a Buffer Stock Management Agency (BuSMA), currently located at the ministry, to purchase farm produce from farmers.
The agency would contract private buying agents to purchase produce from farmers and deliver the produce to the agency for storage in designated warehouses for resale when prices are stabilised.
Mr Ahwoi explained that the rationale behind the agency was to guarantee farmers an available market and reasonable pricing for their harvests so as to forestall the situation where farmers made bumper harvests and were unable to sell the produce at the right prices, resulting in huge losses.
Further, he said, the government would facilitate the acquisition of arable land for block farming in various parts of the country through dialogue with traditional authorities.
That, he said, was to ensure that there was more land under cultivation to guarantee enough yields for both domestic and external markets.
Another critical measure being pursued by the government, Mr Ahwoi said, was the establishment of mechanisation centres in the 130 districts of the country.
Already, 85 mechanisation centres had been established and many more are expected to be set up soon.
Also, to enhance extension delivery system to farmers, Mr Ahwoi said the government was in dialogue with the media to revive the Agriculture Education Programmes on television and radio.
Besides, he said, the government had tasked the Grains and Legumes Development Board, research institutions and private certified seed growers to develop new high-yielding seed varieties of maize, rice, sorghum and other legumes.
Those measures, according the Agric Minister, formed part of the implementation of the new National Medium Term Agricultural Sector Development Plan, which would span 2009 to 2015.
The plan is a comprehensive strategy meant to transform and accelerate the modernisation of agriculture in the country.
He said the aim of the government in pursuing those measures was to significantly minimise, if not eliminate, the drudgery of the hoe and machete, slash and burn and peasant farmer practices.
Mr Ahwoi noted that as part of the medium-term plan, the government had earlier in the year supported farmers with some logistics to cultivate huge acres of maize, soybeans and rice, saying that the ministry was expecting a bumper harvest of maize and rice by the end of the farming season.
Mr Ahwoi also said the government would roll out the full-scale Youth in Agriculture Programme in 2010, which would get the youth involved in crop production, livestock rearing, aquaculture and agri-business.
“This programme would see farming and its related businesses flourish, jobs created, incomes enhanced and quantum jumps in the supplies of food and agricultural raw materials under the programme,” he explained.
Mr Ahwoi used the occasion to thank chiefs who had so far co-operated with the ministry to make land available for farming, adding that their efforts would create jobs for the youth in their area and consequently reduce poverty.
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