This could be done by placing more emphasis on input dealers with wider distribution network.

He said this at the Planting for Food and Jobs Policy Evaluation Session at the just ended Eighth Pre-Harvest Agribusiness Conference and Exhibition held in Tamale and facilitated by Mr Nicholas Issaka Gbana of the USAID. 

In August 2017, President Akufo-Addo launched the Planting for Food and Jobs Policy to serve as security for smallholder farmers who have been at the worst end of poverty despite being the providers of majority of food consumed in Ghana.

With this policy, seeds and fertilizers were given to small holder farmers with a farm size less than five acres at 50 per cent discount and also on credit to be repaid after harvest. The session took a detailed introspection into the Planting for Food and Jobs Policy, looked at the high points, identified the problems and agreed on a solution to the problems.

Mr Addo-Yobo called on all stakeholders to support government in the implementation of the Planting for Food and Jobs Policy as Ghana, especially the Northern Region, had the ability to be the food hub of neighbouring African countries if the objectives of the programme were met.

In his opening remark to update participants on progress made after one year of implementing the Policy, Dr Seth Osei Akoto, the Director of Crops at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, said that a year since the implementation of the programme, Ghana’s harvest for maize and rice had hit 305,000 and 179,000 metric tonnes respectively.

“Seven Hundred and Forty-Five Thousand direct and indirect jobs have been created over the same period,” he said. Mr Seidu Haffis, a farmer from Upper West Region, who was part of the panel to contribute from the farmer’s perspective, complained about distance from distribution centres to some farming communities and implored government to use nucleus farmers to distribute inputs to farmers on time.

He said nucleus farmers were able to give inputs to farmers on credit and take part of their produce after harvest as repayment.  Sharing a UDS Research and Evaluation of the programme in the Northern Region with participants, Dr Danso Abbeam said the programme saw rice yield rise by eight per cent, soybeans 7.5 per cent, and maize four per cent.

He indicated that most of the farmers involved in the research requested that the programme was expanded to cover all agricultural input so that they could comprehensively rely on the programme during the farming season.

The Chief Executive Officer of Northern Development Authority, Dr Abdel Majeed Haroun, assured the farmers that the Authority is willing to collaborate with them to make the programme successful.