The Ghana Agricultural and Rural Development Journalists Association (GARDJA), has called on government to revitalize the One village, One dam (1V1D) policy to improve and sustain the agricultural sector.
The 1VID policy was initiated by the government to construct dams in some villages in northern Ghana to support farmers to do dry season farming. The initiative has received enormous responses about its implementation and the impact it is having on farming and the lives of farmers in general. However, a recent response from the GARDJA has brought to light the association’s dissatisfaction of the implementation of the popular IVID policy.
The President of GARDJA, Mr. Richmond Frimpong in a statement said the policy had not made much difference in the lives of farmers other than serve as a source of drinking water for animals. He warned of drastic hikes in the prices of food in the year 2022, unless urgent measures were taken. He highlighted that data from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture showed that between January and October 2021, there has been a hike in prices of maize, yam, cassava, tomatoes by twelve (12) and seventy-three (73) per cent.
“There is need for urgent action because the challenges with the hike in food prices we saw last year were a clear warning that unless drastic actions are taken, danger looms in 2022. Minus immediate bold interventions, 2022 is likely to come along with even more drastic increase in prices of foodstuff, deepening inequalities among the farming population and an increase in Ghana’s independence on foreign foods, as well as loss of agricultural jobs. Immediate action is needed now,” he stated.
Mr. Frimpong lauded the government for providing farmers with irrigation facilities as it will go a long way to promote farming. He however, concluded his message by urging government to do the needful of revitalizing the agricultural sector through the proper implementation of the 1V1D policy.
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