Akufo-Addo Launches Planting For Export

President Akufo-Addo has launched another major initiative in the country's agricultural sector dubbed: “Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD)” at Dunkwa-on-Offin in the Central Region.

The initiative is one of five modules under government's Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) campaign.

By design, the PERD component of the PFJ is expected to be a game changer, owing to its focus on the development of tree crops (cashew, coffee, oil palm, coconut, mango and rubber) and the consequential benefits to be accrued from the programme.

Key among them is the programme's potential to address the critical issue of the foreign exchange earning capacity of Ghana's economy.

Furthermore, the programme seeks to create a sustainable raw material base for farmers across the country to increase Ghana's revenue in the exportation of agricultural products.

Commenting on the initiative, Deputy Minister for Local Government in charge of Rural Economy and Agriculture, Collins Ntim, indicated that the Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD) Programme is a decentralised National Tree Crop Programme that is geared towards promoting rural economic growth and improving household incomes of rural farmers through the provision of certified improved seedlings, extension services, business support in order to increase exports.

According to him, the PERD programme is in response to the government's decentralised industrialisation agenda- One District, One Factory.

He added that PERD is a five-year programme, which intends to support one million farmers to cultivate an average of one hectare of land each with certified seeds offered to them.

He added that under the PERD programme, government would bring on board between six and eight major cash crops to the level akin to that of cocoa in every district in the country to bring about diversification in the country's agricultural sector.

—Daily Guide