Peasant Farmers meet Parliamentary Committee over sustainable Farming
The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) with its partners has met the parliamentary select committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs to propose ways of promoting sustainable farming in the country.
Among other issues brought up by the stakeholder group were the recommendations for the need to reduce funds spent on importing inorganic fertilizers and to redirect them towards promoting the use of organic composts.
The group, in a presentation made by Mr Daniel Banouku, the Deputy Executive Director of the Centre for Ingenious Knowledge and Organisational Development (CIKOD) indicated that over the years, investment in the agriculture sector had been on the rise but without its corresponding growth.
The group recommended that there is the need for the country to work towards increasing the availability of quantity and quality organic inputs to assist in the promotion of sustainable farming.
The group, also called for the promotion of improved agronomic and soil management practices including soil testing for crop-soil-agro ecology specific fertilizer recommendation.
It added that there is the need to promote decentralized, community based small dams towards the promotion of irrigated agriculture in the dry season.
They also suggested that there is the need to promote and encourage various approaches to sustainable land management including agroforestry, inter-cropping and crop rotation with legumes, as well as soil and water conservation technologies.
Present at the meeting were Madam Victoria Adongo, the Executive Director of PFAG, Mr Bern Guri, the Executive Director of (CIKOD), Abdul Rahman Mohammed of PFAG representatives from WaterAid Ghana and Food Sovereignty Ghana.
The representatives of the various groups made various points leading to the fact the country could focus on promoting organic and sustainable farming towards safeguarding food safety and security.
The Committee through its Chair, Mr Adjei Kwame Asafu said it had received the issue with much concern adding that, conversations on the matter should not end in the meeting.
He said the meeting on the matter should not be the first and the last but there would have to be a continuous discussion on the recommendations raised in the stakeholder group’s presentation.
Source: GNA