The Member of Parliament for Asunafo North Eric Opoku who doubles as a Ranking Member on the food, Agric, and Cocoa Affairs committee in parliament has said the 2nd phase of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) is important but does not agree with President Akufo-Addo on his statistics on the first phase of the policy.
According to him the President’s comparison of one year against 6 years is not done anywhere and proper statistics are done year on year not year on six years
According to Hon Opoku, the right data is from 2016 which saw a policy growth of 2.7% and a 0.4% decrease in 2022
He said there are a lot of problems with the policy from the first phase which needs to be addressed before rolling out the second phase.
President Nana Akufo-Addo on Monday launched phase two of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) program to consolidate the gains made since the implementation of the first phase from 2017 to 2022.
Phase Two of the PFJ, anchored on an input credit system, will provide affordable and timely credit designed to meet farmers’ needs, replacing the input subsidy under the first phase.
It is designed on four main principles – value chain driven, market-driven, private sector focus and promoting inclusivity, and will focus on grains such as maize, rice, soybeans, and sorghum, roots and tubers such as yam, vegetables, and poultry such as broiler production and processing.
It is also to improve access to agricultural inputs, foster the adoption of modern farming practices and technologies, and catapult the agricultural sector to new heights.
Story by: Ahma Baidoo / Ahotoronline.com
