U/E/R: Agriculture Joint Sector meeting held to review Planting for Food and Jobs

A Joint Sector Review (JSR) meeting on Agriculture has been held in Bolgatanga, the Upper East Regional Capital to assess the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme, initiated by the government.

It was aimed at reviewing the performance of the agriculture sector last year, 2020 as well as the impact of the PFJ and the way forward in the midst of COVID-19.

The review meeting brought together stakeholders including Regional Heads of Departments, Municipal and District Chief Executives from Bolgatanga, Bawku, Builsa South, as well as Heads of Agriculture from the municipalities and districts in the Region. It was under the theme, “Consolidating the Gains of PFJ in the Wake of COVID."

Speaking to ModernGhana News in an interview in Bolgatanga, the Regional Director of Agriculture Francis Ennor, said the review meeting was to assess the 2020 Agriculture Sector Performance and strengthening the Department of Agriculture’s capacity to effectively deliver Extension and Regulatory Services and promote Agribusiness.

The programme was opened by the Regional Director of the Upper East Coordination Council Alhaji Mohammed Azonko on behalf of the Regional Minister and attended by more than one hundred participants.

Mr Ennor explained that the review meeting was meant to inform stakeholders what the Ministry of Agriculture has been able to implement, their success and challenges. As stakeholders what can they contribute to help them perform better in the coming year.

Regarding the Planting for Food and Jobs Mr Ennor said, the performance of 2020 was much better than 2019 because the supply of the subsidies fertilizer was readily available than 2021.

The Upper East Director of the Regional Coordinating Council RCC Chief Alhaji Mohammed Azonko in his keynote address stressed the relevance of Agriculture saying, it plays a multi-faceted role in all aspects of human endeavour and the core of development of Ghana.

Alhaji Azonko said it was against this backdrop that most of the pro-poor policies of the government are fashioned based on agrarian such as the Planting for Food and Jobs, Rearing for Food and Jobs among others. The importance of Agriculture, no doubt learns hands to decentralization hence the review meeting.