To enhance food security and promote sustainable agriculture, the government of Ghana has unveiled plans to establish Agricultural Zones across strategic regions of the country. This initiative, announced as part of the second phase of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) program, aims to harness the agricultural potential of areas such as Afram Plains, Tsopoli, Kumawu, Krachi, and Nkoranza.
President Akufo-Addo, in his penultimate State of the Nation’s Address to Parliament, emphasized the importance of large-scale commercial farming in achieving food self-sufficiency. He outlined a comprehensive strategy that involves collaboration with the private sector to provide essential provisions such as irrigation, infrastructure, access roads, and power supply.
Furthermore, the government is keen on making agriculture more attractive to the youth by integrating technology and reducing the manual labor involved in farming. Initiatives include the distribution of farming machinery and equipment, such as tractors, power tillers, maize shellers, combine harvesters, and rice millers, under various programs like the Brazilian More Food Programme and the Indian Exim Facility.
President Akufo-Addo highlighted the positive impact of technology adoption on agricultural productivity, citing a significant decrease in rice imports over the past few years. He expressed confidence in Ghana’s ability to achieve full self-sufficiency in rice production, projecting a continuous upward trend in domestic rice production.
With these ambitious initiatives and investments, Ghana aims to transform its agricultural landscape, increase productivity in key crops like rice, soybean, maize, and tomato, and ultimately become a food-secure nation.
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