Minister
Bryan
Acheampong
Advertisement
More
than
23,000
victims
of
the
flood
caused
by
the
Akosombo
dam
spillage
are
to
benefit
from
a
relief
package
by
the
Ministry
of
Food
and
Agriculture
under
the
Planting
for
Food
and
Job
Phase
II
project.
The
Minister
for
Agric
Bryan
Acheampong
said
so
far,
about
13,000
affected
flood
victims
have
been
provided
with
rice
seeds,
onion
seeds,
pepper
and
tomatoes
seed
as
well
as
fertilisers.
Handing
over
some
ESRF
infrastructure
Projects
and
Food
Processing
Equipment
to
beneficiary
communities
throughout
the
country
at
Tordzinu
in
the
Volta
Region,
the
Agric
Minister,
said
the
event
is
an
expression
of
government’s
efforts
to
empower
smallholder
farmers.
According
to
the
Minister,
the
first
initiated
groundbreaking
works
in
Kwasi
Fante,
Afram
Plains
South
District
of
the
Eastern
Region,
unveiled
a
spectrum
of
transformative
projects
aimed
at
revitalizing
farming
communities
across
the
nation
under
the
Emergency
Support
to
Rural
Livelihoods
and
Food
Systems
exposed
to
COVID-19
(ESRF)
Project.
He
added
the
ESRF
project
was
conceived
in
response
to
the
unprecedented
challenges
posed
by
the
2020
Global
Pandemic
and
in
recent
time
the
Akosombo
dam
spillage
affecting
some
communities.
“Our
goal
was
to
safeguard
the
livelihoods,
incomes,
health,
and
resilience
of
our
target
groups
against
the
impacts
of
COVID-19
and
climate
change.
The
project
is
funded
by
the
Government
of
Ghana
through
a
loan
from
the
International
Fund
for
Agricultural
Development
(IFAD)”.
Furthermore
“Considering
this
reality,
the
Government
of
H.E
Nana
Addo
Dankwa
Akufo-Addo
continues
to
prioritize
agriculture
and
demonstrate
a
firm
commitment
to
the
improvement
of
the
sector.
This
became
evident
within
the
first
seven
months
of
my
stewardship
at
the
Ministry
of
Food
and
Agriculture,
when
the
President
launched
Phase
II
of
the
Planting
for
Food
and
Jobs
campaign
at
Tamale,
Northern
Region.
That
action
by
the
President,
signaled
the
dawn
of
a
new
era
of
Ghana’s
Agriculture,
after
a
period
of
decline
and
uncertainty”.
The
Minister
said,
launch
of
the
PFJ.
2.0
also
underscored
a
new
sense
of
urgency
in
the
government’s
approach
to
tackling
the
problems
of
the
agricultural
sector.
The
short-term
goal
is
to
achieve
self-sufficiency
in
major
staple
crops
such
as
rice,
maize,
soybean,
cassava,
yam,
plantain,
tomato,
pepper,
onion,
and
poultry.
The
Ministry
said
it
will
ensure
that
all
projects,
including
ESRF,
are
aligned
with
the
medium-to-long-term
goals
of
the
PFJ
2.0
program,
including
aligning
their
equipment
support
for
processing
these
staple
crops.
Farmers
Onboarded
and
Inputs
distributed
so
far:
-
Total
number
of
farmers
registered
on
the
GhAAP
to
date-
428,641
Distribution
to
Flood
Victims
Target
–
Total
flood
victims
23,409
–
Total
number
of
flood
victims
served
so
far
13,000
–
Total
NPK
(50kg)
distributed
78,000
–
Total
Urea
(50kg)
distributed
26,000
–
Total
Rice
seeds
distributed
(kg)
180,146
–
Total
Maize
seeds
distributed
(kg)
132,000
–
Total
Pepper
seeds
distributed
(g)
190,000
–
Total
Onion
seeds
distributed
(g)
120,002
–
Weedicides
distributed
(Litres)
40,354
Distribution
to
Vulnerable
Farmers
through
MPs,
MMDCEs
–
Total
vulnerable
farmers
250,000
–
Total
NPK
(50kg)
distributed
538,298
–
Total
Urea
(50kg)
distributed
244,649
–
Total
Maize
seeds
distributed
(kg)
2,446,490
–
Total
Rice
seeds
distributed
(kg)
1,957,192
Distribution
of
inputs
to
flood-affected
and
vulnerable
farmers
is
ongoing
until
the
end
of
the
cropping
season.
Poultry
Intensification
Scheme
(PIS)
The
Ministry
of
Food
and
Agriculture
(MoFA)
is
rolling
out
a
Poultry
Intensification
Scheme
(PIS)
which
targets
the
production,
processing,
and
marketing
of
2
million
broilers
this
year,
with
a
funding
envelope
of
USD12.5m.
So
far,
22
anchor
farmers
have
been
selected
for
the
intervention.
The
intervention
has
commenced
with
three
(3)
farmers
who
have
taken
delivery
of
their
DOCs.
All
others
would
start
as
and
when
their
hatcheries
are
ready.
The
PIS
provides
input
credit
to
farmers
as
follows;
1.
Day
Old
Chicks
(DOCs)
2.
4.5
kg
of
feed
per
bird
(enough
to
feed
the
bird
for
8
weeks)
3.
Full
dosage
of
vaccines
for
protection
of
the
DOCs
The
innovation
that
FSRP-MoFA
brings
on
board
is
that
it
would
include
anchor
farmers
producing
processed
whole
birds
or
processed
cut
parts.
It
would
also
provide
matching
grants
to
beneficiaries
for
processing
and
marketing
facilities
and
capacity
building
in
Climate
Smart
Agriculture
(CSA)
technologies
and
Good
Agricultural
Practices.
This
intervention
would
contribute
to
MoFA’s
overall
target
for
improvement
of
the
poultry
sector
under
the
Planting
for
Food
and
Jobs
(PFJ
2.0).
The
infrastructure
projects
being
handed
over
include:
1.
Farm
Tracks:
constructed
33.5
km
farm
tracks
in
different
regions,
including:
•
Tordzinu-Gowenu-Dorkploame
(8km)
for
small
holder
farmers,
here
in
the
South
Tongu
District
(Volta
Region)
•
Warehouse-Obomeng
(12
km)
for
smallholder
farmers
in
the
Afram
Plains
South
District
(Eastern
Region)
•
Nyemati-Kunkorgu
and
Gwollu-Paana
(13.5
km)
for
smallholder
farmers
in
the
Sissala
West
District
(Upper
West
Region)
2.
Water
Harvesting
Schemes:
constructed
200
ha
water
harvesting
schemes
for
smallholder
farmers:
•
100
ha
water
harvesting
scheme
for
smallholder
farmers,
here,
at
Tordzinu
in
the
South
Tongu
District
(Volta
Region)
•
100
ha
water
harvesting
scheme
for
smallholder
farmers
at
Klenormadi
in
the
Ketu
North
District
(Volta
Region)
3.
Boreholes:
drilled
51
boreholes
in
different
regions:
•
10
boreholes
in
the
North
East
Gonja,
Nanton,
and
Atebubu
districts
of
the
Savannah,
Bono
East,
and
Northern
regions
•
10
boreholes
in
the
Afram
Plains
South
District
of
Eastern
Region
•
11
boreholes
in
Kwahu
East
District
of
Eastern
Region
•
10
boreholes
in
Asante
Akim
North
and
Afigya
Kwabere
North
Districts
•
10
boreholes
in
Sekyere
South
and
Ejura
districts
of
the
Ashanti
Region
4.
Drying
Platforms:
constructed
47
drying
platforms
for
smallholder
farmers:
•
13
drying
platforms
here
at
Tordzinu
in
South
Tongu
District
•
13
drying
platforms
at
Klenormadi
in
Ketu
North
District
•
11
drying
platforms
at
Ayensu
River
and
Aduhima
in
Gomoa
East
and
Kwahu
East
districts
•
10
drying
platforms
at
Asutuare
in
the
Shai
Osudoku
District
of
the
Greater
Accra
Region
These
infrastructural
projects
according
to
the
Ministry,
will
improve
access
to
market
centers
for
our
farmers
and
boost
their
productivity
by
facilitating
the
smooth
transportation
of
their
agricultural
produce.
The
Minister
also
said
ESRF
supported
229
Processing
Groups
and
individual
smallholder
farmers,
particularly
women
and
youth
groups
with
livelihood
equipment
costing
over
1.72
million
USD.