President John Dramani Mahama launched the government’s flagship intervention initiative on Saturday to boost national food productivity.

Describing the Feed Ghana Programme as a laudable idea, the farmers however said they anticipated the use of organic fertilisers in its implementation, instead of agro-chemicals.

In an interview at Seikwa, Mr Prince Kusi Korang, a farmer said the “President has done, and we must all support the implementation of the programme”.

As a necessity of life, he said every Ghanaian family, being extended or nuclear, ought to be able to provide food on the table, saying, accessing three times daily meal in the morning, afternoon and evening was not a privilege but a right.

Madam Hagar Korang, another farmer, said she was happy about the programme, and called on the government to support the farmers at Seikwa to engage in commercial crop production under the programme.

“The initiative is good; however, the President must ensure that its implementation benefits all of us to enhance our farm work,” she stated.

Mr John Ansu, a livestock farmer engaged in piggery and poultry said with support, those in livestock production could expand their pens and thereby create job opportunities for the youth and improve productivity.

He expressed concern about the high cost of feed in the country, and called for a subsidy, urging the government to also provide day-old chicks and hatcheries facilities for them.

Mad Bernice Offei, a cashew farmer, also called on the government to set up a cashew processing factory in the area and set a good and standardised price for cashew nuts.

She said she was also worried that cashew apples always went to waste and called on the government to find alternatives so that the fruits would be used for other purposes, either cashew apple juice or oil.

The Feed Ghana Programme aims to implement strategic measures to increase food production, promote the adoption of modern farming techniques, improve infrastructure, and establish agro-industrial zones across Ghana.

Key interventions within the Feed Ghana Programme include smart agriculture involving establishment of farmers’ service centres nationwide.

The centers will provide essential services such as mechanization, quality inputs, financial support, market access, primary processing, and training for farmers.

Under the programme grains and legumes development would also focus on increasing the production of maize, rice, soya beans, and sorghum for consumption, agro-processing, and export, while “Yeredua” the vegetable component of the programme also aimed at reducing imports from neighbouring countries by promoting the cultivation of vegetables locally.

The government will also invest in controlled environmental farming, such as greenhouse technologies, urban and peri-urban agriculture, and promoting schools to grow their own vegetables through backyard gardening.