He said it was critical for CSOs to strengthen their presentation on policy dialogue to support agriculture development. Mr Adama stated at two-day CSOs convening meeting for Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Plan in Accra.

The meeting was an outcome of two earlier workshops first held on January 2018 to orient CSOs on the CAADP and in October, 2018 to sensitise CSOs on the inaugural CAADP Biennial Review report.

The report aimed to address some of the challenges and constraints identified by CSOs as limiting their active participation and involvement in the programme processes at all levels.He said effective collaboration among stakeholders was key in the development of the agriculture sector.

Speaking on Ghana's Agricultural Policy Environment and Role of CSOs Mr Adama identified the roles of CSOs to include policy dialogue and planning, implementation, reforms, accountability, monitoring and evaluation and advocacy and agenda setting.

The Officer said in order to play these roles effectively, CSOs must ensure that constituencies has to have a legitimate and accountable representation, resource availability, access to platforms for ensuring planning and accountability at levels and also within the CSOs themselves.

Mr Bismark Owusu Nortey, the Programmes Officer at the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) said the meeting been supported by TRUST AFRICA seeks to explore and analyse Ghana's status and progress in implementing commitments of the Malabo Declaration vis-a-vis the inaugural biennial review report.

In that review, Ghana seems not to be of track in the implementation of the Declaration of the CAADP. The country’s overall progress in the implementation of the CAADP was a score of 3.9 out of 10, he said.

He said it was to keep up to date on government's policy and programme intervention in addressing the identified gaps and also map out and review CSOs strategies in the spirit of mutual accountability, to engage more effectively in advocacy to keep government on track to the commitment of the CAADP/Malabo framework.

Mr Nortey said it was expected that the meeting would increase the knowledge and understanding of the biennial review report and score card ratings of the country, increase the knowledge of Programmes and strategies by government in achieving commitments of the CAADP/Malabo Declaration and strengthened advocacy plans for engagement in the CAADP processes.

Madam Victoria Adongo, Executive Director, PFAG said CSOs were expected to play a major role in the development of the country and their role was very important.