The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheampong, has said the country’s agricultural potential can change its narrative on food security if they are fully tapped.
Outlining these potentials, he said the country is blessed with arable land and abundant water for irrigation farming.
He said this makes the country a fertile ground for the cultivation of food and cash crops, which can result in job creation in the agriculture value chain amongst other benefits.
Dr Acheampong assured Ghanaians that the Ministry is capable of leading the country to achieve food security.
He gave the assurance when he addressed a presidential breakfast meeting on Agriculture and Agribusiness Financing with farmers and financial institutions in Accra on Monday.
He noted that the successful implementation of the Planting for Food and Jobs Phase 2.0 (PFJ 2.0) would make Ghana resilient in food security in the next five years.
He described the current phenomenon of importing tomatoes and onions from the Sahelian regions as embarrassing and promised to reverse it with the PFJ 2.0.
The Minister also expressed worries over the country’s inability to meet its poultry consumption demand, saying Ghana consumes 324,000 Metric Tons (MT) of poultry but only produces 15,000 MT.
He was, however, optimistic that through the PFJ 2.0, the country would increase its poultry production from the current five per cent to seven per cent by the end of 2023 and a further 13 per cent by 2024.
To make this happen, he said MoFA would, from October to December 2023, supply 4.5 million day-old chicks, vaccines and starter-pack feeds to anchor farmers and their out-growers.
“This intervention will result in the production of an additional 13,200 MT of poultry meat by the end of this year, which will increase Ghana’s self-sufficiency to 7%,” he said.
He said in 2024, the Ministry would ramp up the poultry sector with support to 18 million day-old chicks, vaccines, and starter-pack feed, which will lead to the production of 42,600 MT of meat, increasing our self-sufficiency to 13%.
This trajectory, he said, would continue until the country reaches full self-sufficiency.
“Plans are also advanced to revive the poultry industry this year through the rehabilitation of 300 outgrown poultry farms across the country over the next 12 months,” he added.
Bala Ali, ISD
