Ghana targets creating 1.5 million jobs in the next two years with plans to invest in agriculture as the West African nation seeks to produce more of its own food to cut the cost of imports, according to the minister for agriculture.<\/p>\n
The plan comes after President Nana Akufo-Addo was elected in December after pledging to boost the agricultural sector and create jobs in a country where almost half of people between 15 and 24 years are unemployed. While Ghana is the world\u2019s second-biggest cocoa producer, it imports more than two-thirds of the staples such as wheat and rice that it needs, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.<\/p>\n
Farming \u201cis going to take off in a very big way,\u201d Minister of Food and Agriculture Owusu Afriyie Akoto said in an interview in the capital, Accra. \u201cThe target is to create 750,000 jobs in the coming season on the farms and then next year we are going to double that to 1.5 million jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
The program is launching in April and will focus on raising the output of rice, corn, soya, sorghum and vegetables, Akoto said. The government will supply farmers with better seed and fertilizers while training them in growing techniques in a country where most production comes from small-holder farms, he said.<\/p>\n
For the government\u2019s plan to work, it must have a clear implementation strategy with key performance targets and timelines that can be measured, Godfred Bokpin, head of the finance department at the University of Ghana\u2019s Business School, said by phone on Friday.<\/p>\n
Creating \u201c750,000 jobs is quite ambitious,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you look along the value chain, from nursing to planting, harvesting and transportation and before it reaches our tables and restaurants, one will say that a lot of jobs will be created.\u201d<\/p>\n
The initiatives will help Ghana to reduce its reliance on imports, Akoto said. Ghana\u2019s annual food inflation rate rose to 9.7 percent in December, from 8 percent the year before, as the cedi fell 11.3 percent against the dollar in 2016. The currency strengthened 0.6 percent to 4.31 against the dollar at 12:43 p.m. on Monday in Accra.<\/p>\n
While the country bans the use of commercial genetically modified seed, it will start to allow the use of non-gmo varieties that were developed by the state-controlled Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Akoto said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur scientists have used the traditional hybrid method to develop high-yielding, drought resistant seeds,\u201d Akoto said. \u201cAll these varieties are sitting gathering dust on the shelves of our universities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oversight of the Ghana Cocoa Board will move to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture from the Ministry of Finance, he said. The country wants to increase annual output to more than 1 million tons from the current season\u2019s target of 850,000 to 900,000 metric tons.<\/p>\n
Cocoa and crude are the nation\u2019s main commodity exports, with Ghana second only to neighboring Ivory Coast as the world\u2019s largest producer of the chocolate ingredient. The International Monetary Fund forecasts the country\u2019s growth for 2017 at 7.4 percent and 8.4 percent for the following year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to integrate the agricultural system,\u201d Akoto said. \u201cCocoa agronomy must benefit from the synergy with other crops and expertise of extension officers.\u201d<\/p>\n
bloomberg<\/p>\n
agweb.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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