Planting for Food and Jobs supported by FAO

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has pledged support for government’s flagship initiative ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’ Programme, which seeks to create job opportunities and ensure food and nutritional security of the country.

The support, which is through a Technical Cooperation Programme, also seeks to build institutional capacity within the seed sector, value addition to farm produces and marketing, and promote e-agriculture among other things.

Mr. Serge Nakouzi, the Deputy Regional Representation for Africa, FAO, said this in a message he delivered on behalf of Dr. Abebe Haile Gabriel, the Regional Representation for Africa, at an inception workshop in Accra.

The Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) was a request made from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) to support the Planting for Food and Jobs Programme.

Mr. Nakouzi said the TCP sought to provide technical assistance in enhancing the delivery of the Programme pillars.

He said it was also to stimulate an enabling environment for institution, instruments and private entrepreneurship to deliver on various components of the PFJ programme to achieve its desired results.

Dr. Abebe said the project would also promote real-time data collection from the field and enhance extension officers capacity to use available e-platform, web-based resources and mobile telephony in extension delivery.

“This will support extension officers, farmers and the ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’ (PFJ) beneficiaries to access and use information,” he added.

He said through the MOFA and the PEJ Secretariat, a participatory approach would be adopted during the project’s implementation to rally support.

Dr. Abebe said the FAO had been a firm partner to government and had supported many interventions in aid of the country’s agricultural development, which had resulted in the improvement in the lives of farmers.

Mrs. Angela Dannson, the Director of Projects, MOFA, said the inception workshop was evident of the support that FAO was giving to the Government directly for the Programme.

She said government’s agenda to transform the agriculture sector through the programme was, therefore, an important agenda that should be supported.

Last year the programme reached 202,000 farmers but this year it was intended to reach 500,000 farmers, she said.

Original source: Modern Ghana
Published on 19 May 2018