The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has said the ministry would implement more greening interventions to further upscale the country’s food production and overall food security.
The interventions, he said, would include adoption and boosting of agroecological practices such as conservation, regenerative and climate-smart agriculture as well as biodiversity conservation and sustainable land management practices will lead to minimal use of agrochemical inputs.
Speaking at the 73rd Annual New Year School and Conference (ANYSC) at the University of Ghana yesterday, he said; “Adopting sustainable production, post production and consumption practices are essential elements for promoting the greening Ghana agenda for food and jobs.
“The objectives of the government’s overarching strategy of Planting for Food and Jobs is in sync with this agenda. The implementation of the PFJ will take full account of the greening Ghana agenda to consolidate the gains so far achieved.”
Dr Akoto was contributing to a panel discussion on the theme “Greening Ghana for Food and Jobs during the pandemic and beyond” at the three-day ANYSC aimed at discussing pertinent issues in the country.
Organised by the university’s School of Continuing Education and Distance Education, this year’s edition of the three day event was on the theme “COVID-19 and socioeconomic dynamics in Ghana.”
Dr Akoto said Greening Ghana for Food and Jobs during and beyond the COVID- 19 pandemic was critical, considering that COVID-19 was an addition to the two major factors of conflict and climate change, both of which continue to undermine accelerated and sustainable development of agriculture in Africa.
He said the government’s interventions for Greening Ghana for Food and Jobs had over the last five years intensified its efforts towards achieving accelerated growth and transformation of the agriculture sector in an inclusive and sustainable manner.
He said various interventions under the Planting for Food and Jobs and other initiatives in the sector have integrated climate change in their design and implementation.
He cited the use of climate resilient seeds, irrigation systems, weather technologies and farmer education are all geared towards greening Ghana for Food and Jobs.
“Over the years the combined effect of these specific interventions account substantially for improved food production and overall food security of the country”, he said.
He said achieving the goal of greening Ghana for food and jobs required greater action and a more concerted and coordinated effort of the government in scaling up climate smart projects to improve resilience to shocks and help strengthen our national food systems.
As part of the strategy to improve food security, he said the Ministry would adopt the recommendations outlined in Ghana’s pathways agreed during national food systems dialogue at last year’s climate change conference in Scotland (COP26) which includes more application of science and technology to existing farming systems and data collection to guide planning.
Other strategies, he said, would be promoting climate smart agriculture cocoa production involving improving soil fertility and management, planting new resilient cocoa strains, replacing old trees, and integrated pest management (IPM) in both forest and transitional areas.
BY TIMES REPORTER
