Keta MP proposes prison agriculture partnership under Ekyeamamfrom irrigation project

The Member of Parliament for Keta, Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey, has urged the Ghana Prisons Service and the Ministry of the Interior to engage the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to explore opportunities for eligible inmates to participate in agricultural activities under the Ekyeamamfrom Economic Enclave Irrigation Project in the Kwahu Afram Plains.

Speaking at a sitting of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Gakpey said the project, which covers approximately 800–850 acres, presents an opportunity to equip inmates with practical agricultural skills, support their rehabilitation and reintegration into society, and boost food production to supplement feeding in correctional facilities.

He said participation should be limited to eligible inmates and accompanied by appropriate security and welfare arrangements. Such a collaboration, he argued, could help transform correctional facilities into centres of rehabilitation, skills development and productivity.

“I believe that, with appropriate security and welfare arrangements, such collaboration could help transform our correctional facilities into centres of rehabilitation, skills development and productivity,” the Keta MP said.

He added: “Rehabilitation should go beyond confinement. We must create opportunities for inmates to acquire skills and contribute meaningfully to society.”

The proposal, if adopted, would see the Prisons Service and the Interior Ministry work with the Agriculture Ministry to identify suitable inmates and integrate them into activities under the irrigation project in the Kwahu Afram Plains.