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More vulnerable groups to benefit from PFJ at West Mamprusi

By
Albert Futukpor, GNA

Kukua (N/R), Oct. 20, GNA – The West
Mamprusi Municipal Department of Agriculture said it is committed to increasing
by 10 per cent the number of women, youth and persons with disability (PwDs)
benefiting from the Planting for Food and Jobs by next year.

Mr Mathew Adua, the West Mamprusi Municipal
Director of Agriculture, said this formed part of the Department’s Action Plan
to increase food production as well as incomes for women, youth and PwDs in the
area.

Mr Adua was speaking at a workshop at Kukua,
a community in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region, to
validate research findings on the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) as part of
the “Advocacy for support for agricultural value chain in the Northern Region
Project.”   

It is being undertaken by Peace for Life
Ghana (PLG), an NGO, with support from the BUSAC Fund.

The PLG conducted the research in the
Municipality in February, this year, to gauge farmers’ awareness on the PFJ,
whether or not they benefited from it or knew about its gender component.

The research showed that vulnerable groups
including PwDs, women and youth, who could also engage in agriculture, had not
been properly mainstreamed into the PFJ.

Figures from the Municipal Department of Agriculture
showed that out of 2,165 farmers who received certified seeds under the PFJ,
only 491 were females, whilst out of 4,441 that received fertilizers, only 357
were females.

Mr Adua said the PFJ had boosted food
production leading to low prices of farm produce, and indicated that conscious
efforts would be made to increase the number of women, youth and PwD
beneficiaries who formed the core of farm labour, to further boost production.

He advised farmers to explore the
agricultural value chain and take advantage to increase production and incomes.

Some farmers said they encountered
challenges in accessing tractor services to prepare their fields for planting,
whilst others could not access fertilizer at the right time for their crops.

Mr Adua assured them that efforts were being
made to establish agricultural mechanisation and service centre in the
Municipality to help address tractor service needs.

Madam Mary Kalori, a groundnut and maize
farmer, said many women could not cultivate their fields due to lack of funds
and appealed to government to support them with loans to pay back after
harvest.

Dr Gabriel Benarkuu, President of the
College for Community and Organisational Development, who is a Consultant on
the project, advised farmers in the area to regularly visit the Department of
Agriculture to seek solutions to their challenges to help improve their
productivity and incomes.

Mr Mutawakilu Alhassan, the Executive
Director of PLG, expressed happiness about the advocacy activities in the area,
which had helped to improve on farmers’ knowledge on the PFJ.

GNA

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