Agric sector in retrospect

In 2021, government outlined some measures to help improve agricultural productivity. Key among them was the acceleration of commercial farming.

Leveraging digital technology, government said it would work more closely with stakeholders to confront the structural challenge with commercial agriculture.

Some stakeholders in the agricultural sector, on the other hand, advocated that Ghana developed its own model to solve challenges that confronted the sector.

Specifically, they said the focus should be on innovative financing, proper targeting of inputs, improved extension services, and infrastructure and market accessibility, among others.

We bring you a continuation of some developments in the sectorlast year.

Youth in agric

To encourage youth participation in agric in the wake of an ageing agric population, the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), in collaboration with the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), is implementing the Youth in Export Programme (YiEP) to encourage the youth, particularly those who have completed tertiary school, to take up agric for export as a career.

The YiEP is aimed at attracting the youth in agricultural crop production to take up farming as export business with a view to increasing the number of Ghana’s youthful and educated population that are attracted to the agricultural export sector.

It is also designed to be an avenue for the youth to earn decent incomes from agriculture and other exports, thus putting them on the pedestal to become self-employed.

Above all, it is to groom beneficiaries to become exporters, thereby contribute to the expected growth of the export sector in line with the National Export Development Strategy (NEDS).

The first batch of beneficiaries of the YiEP completed their six-months training.

They were selected from about 67 applicants for the pilot phase of the YiEP, dubbed: “Youth in Farming and Export of Agricultural Products.”

The 20 trainees were selected across the Eastern, Central and Volta regions and were attached to experienced exporters (mentors) in the horticultural sector who gave each of them practical on-field training in the production of pineapple, papaya and vegetables (chili, okra and aubergine) with focus on the export market.

Funding of the PFJ

The General Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU) called on the government to desist from increasing the allocation of funds for the PFJ programme in the 2022 budget.

The PFJ initiative, one of the government’s flagship programmes designed to improve agricultural productivity in the country.

Its General Secretary, Mr Edward Kareweh, said until the leakages and other challenges with the programme were addressed, any increase in allocation would be wasted.

“The PFJ programme has been challenged seriously and there are weaknesses which have not been addressed well. If you supply more fertiliser it means you are going to increase smuggling and then have less fertiliser available for farmers,” he said.

Fertiliser subsidy programme

Stakeholders in the agric sector called for a rethink of the strategies used for the distribution of fertiliser under the Fertiliser Subsidy Programme (FSP).

That, it said, was necessary for the sustainability of the PFJ. With particular reference to subsidised fertiliser for farmers, the stakeholders argued that subsidy was a development tool that the country should not allow to be abused at the expense of the majority of the people who are meant to benefit from it.

“Today there is no subsidy anymore or the subsidy has no effect because the fertiliser is smuggled out. Once it is a subsidy, it must get to a target group and so if it does not get to them, then it cannot be counted as subsidy,” the General Secretary of GAWU, Mr Edward Kareweh, said in an interview on July 30, 2021, in reaction to the bruohaha over the fertiliser subsidy and its access in the country.

The Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana (CAG) had pushed for what it described as the total deregulation of the fertiliser downstream in fulfilment of the Plants and Fertiliser Act, 2010 (Act 803).

The Act provides for plant protection, seeds and fertiliser control, and for related matters. Its CEO, Mr Anthony Selorm Morrison, in an interview, further asked the government to take a cue from the removal of subsidies on petroleum products some 20 years ago and how it leveraged and promoted massive private sector investments.

He explained that although the Chamber was not calling for a price ceiling, a complete removal of government subsidies would help to fully integrate the industry and set it up for full investment by the private sector.

National farmers’ day

A 44-year-old Alhaji Mohammed Mashud from the Northern Region was crowned as the National Best Farmer for 2021.

For his prize, Alhaji Mashud would get GH¢600,000 cash and a GH¢500,000 insurance cover.

The first runner up, Suleman Yidana, from the North East Region, would receive a tractor and disc plough, GH¢200,000 insurance cover, a study trip to Israel and a sprayer.

The second runner up, Rev. Samuel Sida, from the Ahafo Region, also received a Nissan Navara pickup and a GH¢200,000 insurance cover.

The Best fisherman award went to Mr Kweku Ehun of the Gomoa East District of the Central Region who received a two-bedroom house to be built at a location of his choice. Other regional award winners were also awarded.

The awards ceremony was instituted to reward the nation's hard working and gallant farmers and fishers for their commendable and meritorious contribution to the nation's food security.

Last year's celebrations was on the theme: "Planting for Food and Jobs-Consolidating Food Systems in Ghana,”. It was graced by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and ministers of state from the regions.

In all 165 farmers and fishermen were awarded at the ceremony.

Altair Masqued said it was important that government worked to accelerate efforts to mechanise agriculture to make the sector more attractive for the youth.

Chicken shortage

For the first time in a long run, availability rather than cost, risk, denied some households access to chicken and other poultry proteins during the Yuletide celebrations.

It follows a historic delay in poultry imports into the country from key markets such as the United States of America (USA), Brazil and the European Union (EUH), as a result of disruptions to the global container shipping industry.

A market intelligence report by the Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana (CAGY) established that the situation had pushed orders meant to meet Christmas demands into the second week of January 2022 and raising concerns over a looming shortage in poultry products during the Christmas and New Year festivities.

The chamber said the development had huge implications on the price of poultry, a key protein source for the country, especially during the Yuletide.

When the Graphic Business checked up with the local poultry industry, farmers said they were aware of the looming shortage but lacked the capacity to fill in the gap.

They mentioned the short time frame and the high cost of operation, particularly feed, as the bottlenecks that would make it impossible for them to benefit from the challenge.

The Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers (GNARR) said the time frame was too short for its members to salvage the situation, as it takes seven-to-eight weeks to produce birds for consumption.

It further explained that due to the high cost of production, its members would not even be able to meet the 40 per cent demand for locally produced birds during the festivities, let alone filling in any void to be occasioned by disruptions to imports.

writer’s email: ama.baafi@graphic.com.gh