Minister for Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto said the government is committed to increasing the coverage of farmers using improved seeds from 200,000 to 300,000 small-scale farmers by 2018.
According to the minister, the state of food security in Ghana is below satisfactory as only 11 percent of maize farmers in the country currently use improved seeds.
Speaking at the Graphic Business/Stanbic Bank Breakfast Meeting Dr. Afriyie Akoto said improved seeds in the Agric sector will see Ghana become food sufficient in the next five years.
Export ban
Meanwhile, Dr. Afriyie Akoto said the ban of vegetables to the European market will be lifted by the end of November. Ghana has been banned over the past two years from exporting vegetables to the European markets over safety concerns.
“Oh definitely, may be in the next one month, they’ve indicated to us unofficially that everything is ok now, we’ve put in so much effort in the nine month to correct all those things that were really hampering the progress in the lifting of the ban,” he said.
Dr. Afriyie Akoto said, “We’ve put reforms in place, we’ve changed personnel, and we’ve infused new qualified personnel into the system…so now we are that we are confident that we have a sustainable system to ensure good quality products to the European market.”
Economic impact
Ghana lost about $10 million following the ban on five vegetable exports to the European market. Poor inspection of infested vegetables was blamed for the ban.
Moth and insects infected vegetables were glossed over by the inspection organization PPISG according to the Ghana Export Promotion Authority.
Ghana was placed under the ban by the food and verterinary office of the European Commission. The vegetables include chilli, aubergine, gourds among others.
The Graphic Business/Stanbic Bank Breakfast Meeting brought together major stakeholders in the sector that include officials from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, sector associations such as the Ghana Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), the Peasant Farmers Association, the Ghana Trade and Livelihoods Coalition, as well as some experts in the sector.
The theme: Securing the economy with agriculture, is to shape a broad discussion on how to revive the ailing sector, which was once one of the highest contributors to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The meeting featured speakers such as the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto; a former flag bearer of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Dr. Abu Sakara; a former Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Ahmed Alhassan Yakubu, and the General Secretary of the GAWU, Mr. Edward Kareweh.