MPs decry lack of investment in agric sector
Members of Parliament have decried the lack of adequate investment in the agricultural sector, saying it can affect food security in the near future.
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They said since the discovery of oil, the attention of the government appeared to have shifted to hydrocarbons at the expense of agriculture.
The members stated this when they contributed to a debate on a report of the Public Accounts Committee on the audit report of the Auditor-General on the Ministry of Food and Agriculture's Support to Farmers to Increase Food Crop Production (FASDEP) programme.
What is FASDEP?
FASDEP is a programme formulated by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA ) to modernise agriculture.
The first phase was formulated and implemented from 2002- 2006.
Following the end of implementation, the MOFA evaluated the policy and realised that there were some challenges during its implementation.
As a result, FASDEP Two was formulated to reflect on the lessons learnt and also respond to the changing needs of the agricultural sector.
It was developed with the objective to ensure food security in Ghana from 2007 to 2015.
Under FASDEP Two, the MOFA set the target of food security and emergency preparedness, increased growth in incomes for farmers, increased competitiveness and enhanced integration into domestic and international markets and the integration of science and technology in food and agriculture development, among other things.
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What MPs said
The Minority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said the nation was gradually being imperilled by the inadequacy of investment in agriculture.
He said agricultural inputs such as fertiliser were in short supply, while subsidies had been removed.
He added that the government was not doing much to get farmers out of poverty.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Akim Oda, Mr William Agyapong Quaitoo, said the main challenges that agriculture had faced for many years such as post-harvest losses and lack of finance, still plagued the sector.
He wondered why the government had relaxed the policy to subsidise fertilisers and accused the technocrats at the MOFA of failing to devise strategies to address the challenges in the sector.
The MP for Nsuta Kwamang Beposo, Mr Kwame Asafu-Adjei, said the government had failed to encourage the youth to take up farming by providing financial resources.
He said the government had also failed to build irrigation systems, especially in the Accra Plains and build cottage industries in the sector to provide employment for the youth.