Communique to agriculture pocicy makers

COMMUNIQUÉ TO AGRICULTURE POLICY MAKERS OF GHANA TOWARDS THE JOINT AGRICULTURE SECTOR REVIEW TO COME OFF 23-24 MAY, 2012 IN ACCRA

ISSUED BY ACTIONAID GHANA AT THE END OF A SECTION OF AN ONGOING SERIES OF SENSITISATION OF SMALLHOLDER FARMERS ON THE FINDINGS OF ITS PUBLIC FINANCING OF AGRICULTURE RESEARCH AND AGRICULTURAL POLICY ADVOCACY

Driving the concept and practice of the ActionAid strategy “People's Action to End Poverty” and under the auspices of ActionAid Ghana “Putting Food on the Table: Meet Needs of Women Farmers” campaign, the sensitisation was held on 15th to 17th May, 2012 at Tamale. Participants (listed below), mostly farmers from the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions, deliberated on human rights, Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), Food and Agriculture Sector Development Policy (FASDEP II), Medium Term Agriculture Sector Investment Plan (METASIP), findings of the ActionAid Ghana Public Financing of Agriculture research and their own experiences, among others.

Drawing from the deliberations, a communiqué the farmers issued to policy makers through the press at the end of the first batch of training and ActionAid's assessment of the way forward for agricultural policy formulation, programming and resource allocation for smallholder farmers, development agencies and duty bearers to collectively end poverty, Action Aid issues this joint communiqué to inform the forthcoming review of the agriculture sector.

We, the smallholder farmers, Green Earth Organisation and ActionAid Ghana being

Appreciative of the fact that African states, through the Heads of States Summit in Maputo in 2003 committed themselves to allocate 10% of their national annual budgets to support agriculture and ensure annual growth rates in the agricultural sector by 6% and as endorsed in the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP),

Aware that Government of Ghana has put in place a food and agriculture sector policy phase two (FASDEP II) and its investment plan, Medium Term Agricultural Sector Investment Plan (METASIP)

Recognizing that FASDEP I had constraints to its intended rural transformation and poverty reduction through modernisation of poor smallholder agriculture because of improper targeting of the poor for development intervention and weak problem analysis

Recognizing that FASDEP II is to target poor and risk prone producers

Noting that these have still not been addressed adequately

Recognizing that smallholder agriculture has been noted in FASDEP II as playing significant roles in the food and agriculture sector

Recognizing that FASDEP II acknowledges women smallholder farmers as the main actors in production, processing and marketing

Affirming that women are indeed the key actors in Ghanaian farming: constituting over half the agricultural labour force, producing 70 per cent of the country's food, constitute 95 per cent of those involved in agro-processing and 85 per cent of those in food distribution

Noting that smallholder agriculture has not been given adequate attention in the METASIP and smallholder women farmers do not have a specific budget line

Relying on our collective and peculiar experiences at the household and community levels; and assessment of Government's interventions in the agriculture sector

Now therefore demand that
Government increases its spending on agriculture, regarding the 10 percent allocation as a bare minimum for direct investment in food and agriculture.

Government increases its spending on smallholder agriculture and institute a standalone budget for smallholder women farmers to increase their resource allocation and redress peculiar cultural and reproductive hindrances to their agricultural productivity.

Government relieves the agriculture budget of the load of the feeder roads budget and distribute it to all sectors thereby making more resources available for direct funding for food and agriculture.

Government reorients the FASDEP II and METASIP to focus more on women smallholder farmers.

Agricultural research be reviewed and focused to increase productivity of smallholder agriculture, results dissemination and adoption and on sustainable agriculture – placing emphasis on crops grown by women while involving smallholder women in research design.

The extension service be overhauled to support more smallholder farmers, especially women farmers and with current technical advice driven by the imperative to increase food security and farm productivity.

Government subsidy programmes such as the fertilizer, tractors and block farming programmes be allocated equally to men and women – 50:50

Government develops and disseminates suitable technologies for smallholder farmers and their organizations that reduce farming and household related drudgery, especially for women farmers.

Government promotes sustainable agriculture and reduce dependence on chemical inputs by promoting pro-poor, low cost, high output and integrated farming systems –including models on agro-ecological approaches, community seed banks, community buffer stocks, use of good indigenous knowledge, investment in small scale irrigation systems, livestock provision for women farmers and associated affordable credit.

Government develops targeted subsidized and innovative credit programmes for women farmers and/or provide resources to support loan guarantee, insurance schemes and savings and credits associations.

Government targets resources more towards the three northern regions, especially to support increased productivity of staples through improved extension, research, irrigation and credit facilities for smallholder farmers, especially women farmers.

MoFA be made more accountable for outcomes oriented towards farmer productivity and wealth creation and not outputs; and to demonstrate how it will address the internal inefficiencies that have been identified in independent studies.

Government lifts the ban on employment in MoFA, especially the ban on recruitment of extension officers and to employ more female extension officers.

Government develops appropriate technologies to quantitatively measure the unpaid care work of smallholder women farmers into the GDP, particularly that of women smallholder farmers and of women in general: and accord women the appropriate recognition and share in national policy formulation and resource allocation.

Politicians desist from agricultural development policy and intervention formulation for political gain and encourage and allow MoFA and related institutions to provide proactive and pragmatic policy and technical leadership to boost smallholder agriculture for food security, domestic industry and poverty reduction among smallholder farmers, especially for smallholder women farmers and for public good.

List of Organizations
Northern Co-op. Vegetable Farmers' Union, Kpandia Women farmers' Group, Dungu Farmers' Group, Bontanga Farmers' Association, Bangsim Nyagsa Tuutingli; Bawku Farmers' Network; Kobilkom Small Ruminant Women's Group, Kanshegu; Sisaala East and West Farmers' Association; Sisaala East Donkey Tract Owners Women's Group, Tumu; Benhisun Wayambee, Tamale; Kpang Mang Kawuni, Green Earth Organisation and ActionAid Ghana