New campaign to drive investment for small scale farming in Ghana

farmer_1The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) in collaboration with Oxfam International and other partners is implementing the “GROW” Campaign to increase investment in small scale farming in Ghana.

The campaign seeks to involve all stakeholders to work at increasing food production and reducing poverty sustainably.

Mr Dominic Deme-Der, Research and Policy Manager at Oxfam, briefing the media in Accra on Wednesday, said the campaign would also focus on how the Agriculture extension service could benefit farmers to produce more food.

He said the campaign would also seek to address the injustices in the food production and distribution system, and identify factors that it impossible for people to have enough food to eat.

“We will also facilitate improve access to fertile lands for small scale farmers especially woman and migrate farmers,” he said.

Mr Dominic Deme-Der said it was time for effective national regulations and enforcement to ensure that Government provides a secure access to land for small-scale farmers and also defend the rights of people living in poverty.

He said the campaign would also engage investors to respect all existing land use rights, and ensure that the principle of free, prior and informed consent was followed in all agreements.

He called on Government to speed up the processes for the passage of the Land use Planning Bill and all subsidiary legislations.

Mr Deme-Der said the initiative would also advocate for more credit facilities for the small scale farmers and called on banks and other financial institutions to invest and engage with these farmers to promote sustainable and inclusive agriculture.

Mrs Victoria Adongo, Programmes Coordinator for PFAG, said government must scale up and allocate the 10 per cent of the annual budget to agriculture as collectively agreed in Maputo in 2003.

She also called on government to adhere to the Medium term agriculture sector investment plan and Food and agriculture sector development policy II, the national food and agriculture policy by targeting small scale farmers who cover more than half of farm lands.

“We note government’s overall investment in the agricultural sector and how much of these interventions directly get to these smallholder farmers,” she said.

Source: GNA

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