Background

Five months since Dr. Bryan Acheampong assumed office as Minister responsible for Food and Agriculture. He set up to develop a roadmap (built on the successes of the Planting for Food and Jobs phase 1)  to achieve food security and resilience, with a focus on the entire value chain of Agriculture and a drastic import substitution program directed at reducing our over-reliance on food imports. A vision for the turnaround of the tree crop sub-sector, with a  focus on the cocoa farmer’s share of the cocoa revenue was also on the drawing board.

Assessment of the PFJ Phase 1

A thorough analysis of the sector revealed huge potential, which when well exploited could lead to the achievement of the objectives set by HE the President. The assessment of the PFJ Phase 1 confirmed that a lot of successes had been achieved in the areas of utilization of fertilizer, acceptance, and adoption of improved seeds as well as the adoption of good agronomic practices by farmers. It was also established that if Ghana could properly utilize the existing irrigation schemes deployed by the Government, we would significantly improve food production for some critical crops such as rice, onion, and tomato.

For example, the government has committed over GHS1.2 billion for irrigation infrastructure in the northern regions alone, I see no justification for the current state of high imports of vegetables from the sub-region in spite of the huge potential for all-year-round production. In a recent meeting the sector Ministe with onion importers plying the Niger route, it was disclosed that on average an amount of USD2 million was spent weekly to import onions. It was however refreshing to note when they disclosed their willingness to convert their import trade to local production and trading.

Rice Production

The production of rice, data shows that it improved from 667,000 metric tons in 2016 to 1,190,000 metric tons in 2022. Unfortunately, more than half of the paddy Ghana produce is shipped out of the country depriving local processors of access to raw materials. Indeed we recognize the unavailability of large processors with the financial wherewithal to procure and process the paddy.

Potential of  Food and Jobs Phase II

The Planting for Food and Jobs Phase II (PFJ 2.0) has been designed as a bold, innovative, and comprehensive approach to tackle head-on the hurdles on our food security journey. The underpinning model, which is the Input Credit System, will solve a number of critical challenges namely:

• Access to credit;
• Quality of agro inputs;
• Unstructured markets of agricultural produce;
• Low mechanisation, among others.

The roll out the Programme in full, one will no longer need to mobilise upfront financing for land development and preparation as well as seeds and fertilizers, which together constitute about 80% of production cost.

Crop budget analysis,

Following crop budget analysis, using rice as an example puts this in perspective:

A farmer requires at least GHS40,000 for the development of one hectare of land; the farmer will also have to spend a minimum amount of GHS5,975  per hectare on agro-inputs and an additional amount of GHS3,375 on other on-farm activities including labor.

For a new farmer intending to crop 5 hectares, that will mean raising an amount of GHS246,750 upfront. This no doubt will be out of reach for many people desiring to go into commercial farming, notwithstanding the proven financial benefits of a net profit of GHS32,807 per cycle.

Under PFJ 2.0, one does not need to raise this GHS246,750 upfront, as this will be facilitated under the program through the inputs credit arrangement.  

Post-production

Post-production the PFJ 2.0 has structured market linkages to ensure that produce cropped has a ready guaranteed market from credible off-takers.

To complement the PFJ 2.0 initiative, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture intends to tackle the problem of access to large tracts of agricultural land, through the establishment of Agriculture Zones to drive sustainable and commercially-oriented agriculture, with emphasis on climate-smart agriculture across the country.

Agriculture commodities on PFJ 2.0

The PFJ 2.0 as approved by the cabinet, is a five-year plan to attain food and raw material self-sufficiency  in the following 10 crops and poultry:

• Vegetables – tomato, onion and pepper
• Grains – rice, maize, soya and sorghum
• Plaintain, Roots, and Tubers – cassava, and yam
• And with poultry the emphasis will be on Broiler production and processing.

These commodities were selected based on their:

• Significance in the diet of Ghanaians
• Contribution to Food and Nutrition Security
• Contribution to foreign exchange earnings
• Contribution to import Substitution.

To be clear, the focus on these selected commodities does not however mean that other equally important crops and livestock would be abandoned by the Ministry.

Stakeholder:

Development partner's engagement   PFJ 2.0

The opportunity to present the PFJ 2.0 to our development partners, with whom MoFA has enjoyed tremendous support over the years in the development of the agriculture sector. The interactions will align and tailor their programs to the objectives and principles of PFJ 2.0

Value chain engagement

In designing the program MoFA also consulted with farmers, aggregators, actors along the agricultural value chain, development partners, businessmen, and agents of change at all levels, among others. This was done to ensure the buy-in of all stakeholders in the agricultural space.

These stakeholder engagements assured and pleaded support from partners when the phase of the implementation kicks off.