The government has just announced the start of the second phase of the plantings for food and jobs program. This phase is meant to build on the success of the first one, which was launched in 2017.
The Input Credit System, also known as PFJ 2.0, will offer credit that is fast, inexpensive, and tailored to farmers' requirements.
The project aims to improve service delivery to maximize impact and create respectable jobs for the teeming youth, while also changing and modernizing the agricultural value chain with the active participation of the private sector.
Under the first phase of PFJ, the input subsidy program is replaced with the input credit system.
The latest phase of the PFJ, the government's agricultural flagship program launched in 2017, is aimed at around 1.2 million farmers nationally for the cultivation of grains, tubers, vegetables, and other crops. It is modeled after the first phase's successful implementation.
More than 420,000 direct and indirect employment are anticipated to be created throughout the course of the five-year initiative.
Brazil's government is contributing $62 million to the program, and the Czech Republic's government has approved €10 million for the intervention over a five-year period.
The project is founded on four primary tenets: encouraging inclusion, value chain-driven market-driven focus, and private sector focus.
The government hopes that the new system will increase access to agricultural inputs, encourage the use of cutting-edge farming techniques and technology, and ultimately propel the agricultural industry to new heights.
To witness the introduction of PFJ 2.0, hundreds of people from all walks of life crowded the University for Development Studies (UDS), Tamale, auditorium.
In addition, there were ministers of state, lawmakers, metropolitan, municipal, and district chief executives (MMDCEs), civil society organization representatives, farmers, traditional leaders, and clergy.
The program was launched yesterday in Tamale, the regional capital of the North, by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who said it was evidence of "our government's steadfast commitment to the growth and prosperity of our farming communities."
He claimed that phase one of the initiative has benefited more than 2.7 million farmers and other value chain participants around the nation through modules such food crops, Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD), Rearing for Food and Employment, and Agriculture Mechanization.
He said that by giving farmers access to financing, they would be better able to make educated decisions and invest in the inputs that would greatly increase their output.
President Akufo-Addo stated, "We realize that enhanced agricultural productivity is the cornerstone of economic growth, rural development, and poverty alleviation.
The President said the project has enormous potential to speed up the expansion of the agricultural sector and described it as a major step towards addressing difficulties in the industry.
In order to empower our farmers, increase productivity, and promote sustainable agricultural growth in Ghana, he said, "this system represents a radical approach."
The plan, according to the president, would promote financial inclusion by giving farmers access to formal financial services that were previously out of their grasp and will help keep the nation's food supply generally stable.
President Akufo-Addo declared, "To ensure the success of this system, we are dedicated to developing strong institutional structures, encouraging public-private partnerships, and providing the essential support to our farmers.
He declared that the government would keep funding capacity-building initiatives and extension services, as well as providing farmers with the training and tools they need to efficiently use inputs and put new farming techniques into practice.
The impact of the system would be tracked by monitoring and assessment systems, according to President Akufo-Addo.
He continued by saying that doing so will enable data-driven decisions, ongoing improvement, and increased scheme effectiveness.
The President acknowledged that the input credit system may provide difficulties, but added that "we will work carefully to set fair interest rates, ensure transparent loan repayment methods, and guarantee that credit is accessible to all farmers, especially women and adolescents."
According to President Akufo-Addo, everyone must fully commit to the PFJ Phase II for it to succeed, especially the corporate sector.
"This is your program; as we frequently emphasize, the government has no place in business.
The government's job is to foster a climate that encourages private sector investment, according to the president.
He continued by saying that PFJ 2.0 was proof of the supportive atmosphere the government intended to create for the growth of the private sector.
The President emphasized, "I thus urge all value chain participants of the commodities covered by PFJ Phase II to boost their game and take advantage of the opportunities presented under the program."
The first stage aimed to boost production, guarantee food security, provide enough raw materials for the agro-industry, boost exports, and create jobs, particularly for the teeming youth.
The food crops module, one of five, concentrated on expanding access to fertilisers and better seeds to boost agricultural yields through the input subsidy scheme.
One of phase one's accomplishments was the onboarding of more than 2.7 million farmers and other value chain participants.
The President listed further noteworthy accomplishments such as a very steady food security environment and food self-sufficiency in important food staples including maize, cassava, and yam.
President Akufo-Addo claimed that the agricultural sector's growth rate climbed from 2.7% in 2016 to an average of 6.3% from 2017 to 2021, and that rice self-sufficiency would reach nearly 50% in 2022, down from 29.1% in 2016.
According to the President, the application rate of fertilizer increased from eight kilograms per hectare (kg/ha) in 2016 to 25kg/ha in 2022.
As a result of increased private sector investment in the seed industry, the distribution of certified seeds increased from 2,000 tonnes in 2016 to 36,000 tonnes in 2022.
Despite these achievements, "the PFJ Phase One encountered some limitations during implementation," the President said. "Some of these included heavy financial burden on the government imposed by subsidies on seeds and fertilisers, limited adoption of the value chain approach, and limited access to agricultural credit."
President Akufo-Addo acknowledged that there had been minimal priority placed on the national strategic stock, inefficient monitoring of input distributors and suppliers, and a focus only on smallholder farmers. He said the second phase will help address these issues.
The program's support from the donor organizations and other stakeholders was praised by the president.
Dr. Bryan Acheampong, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, explained that because he was aware of the enormous amount of work that needed to be done at the ministry, he jumped right into the task at hand by "taking stock of the state of affairs in the sector, particularly the implementation of the government's flagship program PFJ."
In order to fully realize the potential of the agriculture industry, the minister said, there were still enormous gaps in knowledge that needed to be filled.
The development of some food crops, animal production, extension services, agriculture infrastructure, and food self-sufficiency are a few areas where the shortages were highlighted.
Moreover, Dr. Acheampong said that "problems of inefficiencies, post-harvest losses, agricultural financing, subpar agronomic practices, and limited adoption of technologies were observed."
According to him, the review process called for a shift in approach to address the sector's difficulties forcefully, "and this gave birth to the Planting for Food and Jobs Phase II."
In a speech delivered on his behalf by the Chief of Zangbalin, Naa Dr. Jacob Mahama, the Overlord of Dagbon, Ya-Na Abukari II, urged the populace to support the initiative designed to provide employment in order to combat rural poverty and raise the general standard of living.
The Ya-Na vowed his unwavering dedication to seeing the project through to completion.
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