The Government’s Agriculture flagship Policy is aimed at increasing Agricultural Production and Productivity while cutting down on the huge foreign exchange used in importing food items into the country annually as well as to provide jobs for the people Ghana.

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah in his inaugural address held at the forecourt of the Ejura Traditional Palace in the Ejura Sekyedumase Municipality assured the people that the Government was highly committed to the implementation of the programme (Planting for food and Jobs) which was very important. Thus, everything would be done within the financial constraints that the Government is currently facing to make the programme a reality.

He added that the overall objective of the “Planting for Food and Jobs Campaign” was to ensure immediate and adequate availability of food in large quantities in the country through improved productivity and intensification of targeted Government of Ghana support to private sector service providers. He stated that it was estimated that about 3,760723 metric tonnes of produce at a value of GHC1.3 billion would be created this year-2017 from the programme, compared to 2016 production level of 2,782,44 metric tonnes at a value of GHC 0.7 billion”.

The campaign which had been structured along the lines of the erstwhile “Operation Feed Yourself” programme of the 1970s would for this 2017 focus on four key value chains; maize, rice, soybean and sorghum as well as promote peri-urban vegetable production.

A secondary objective of the campaign, Hon. Osei-Mensah stated that was to provide job opportunities for the teeming unemployed youth in the agriculture and allied sectors. Through the policy’s intervention and strategic direction, about 750,000 jobs, in both direct and indirect employment especially for the youth would be created during the first year and the tertiary objective was to create general awareness for all formal workers to either have farms and grow some cereals or vegetables or establish backyard gardens, when enough land is not available and accessible.

Hon. Osei-Mensah said one significant aspect of the programme was that it covers all the ten regions of the country. While maize and rice would cover all the ten regions, soybean and sorghum production would be concentrated in Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions as the two crops grow well in these three regions.

Planting for food and Jobs programme is anchored on five pillars

(1) The provision of improved seeds
(2) Supply of fertilizers
(3) Provision of dedicated extension services
(4) Marketing strategy and the infusion of
(5) Electronic platform in undertaking all activities in food and agriculture-E- Agriculture.

He assured that government was highly committed to the implementation of the laudable programme and called for close partnership with traditional authorities, private sector and development partners to work with MoFA to fulfill the dream of making food readily accessible to all Ghanaians.

The Executive Director of the National Service Scheme, Mr. Mustapha Yussif in his address promised that the National Service Scheme (NSS) and the youth will collaborate with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Cocoa Affairs to support the Government’s initiative to expand and ensure the food security of the country.

He said that the youth and NSS are poised and ready to revive all farming modules that collapsed.