Elumis Foundation supports PFJ initiative

A US-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), Elumis Foundation, has donated 400 solar energy kits to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in support of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) initiative in Accra.

The donation is the organisation’s way of showing appreciation for the impact the government's flagship agricultural project is making.

Each of the plug-and-play kits is made up of a solar panel, a charging and power storage system and a bulb. The charging system can also charge smart devices such as mobile phones.

Solar energy kits

The energy kits are to be distributed to farmers under the PFJ scheme nationwide who live in communities without electricity.

They are to, among other things, help the children of farmers in rural communities study at night and also help the farmers connect to the world by aiding them to charge their mobile phones.

The Africa Region Director of Elumis Foundation, Mr Dave Mehta, presented the solar energy kits to the sector Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, on behalf of the foundation.

Mr Mehta expressed profound delight for the PFJ initiative, which he believed was a highly innovative scheme.

Impact of PFJ

Dr Akoto received the kits and expressed excitement that the PFJ programme had been recognised outside the borders of the country in far away United States.

Describing the donation as a "sign of great generosity", he announced his intention to introduce a competition among villages which were involved in the PFJ programme.

He said since 2017 when the programme was introduced, it had greatly contributed to food security, the creation of jobs and improvement in livelihoods for many Ghanaians nationwide.

Dr Akoto said the ministry was poised to extend the programme to more farmers, adding that so far, over one million farmers had signed onto it.
Recognition of PFJ

The Chief Executive Officer of the foundation, Mr Manny Sakellakis, said the donation of the solar energy kits was in recognition of the impact of the PFJ in the lives of rural farmers.

He was excited that the ministry accepted to receive the items, adding that “it means that they will get to the right people who really need them”.

He said the PFJ was a wonderful initiative and hoped that the support would help the children of farmers in the rural areas study.