A $15-million initiative to ensure districts prioritise investments in agriculture and improve food security has been expanded to cover all the 216 local assemblies across the country.
This was after a successful implementation in 28 districts in the Upper East, Upper West, Northern, Savannah and North East regions.
The initiative, known as the District Agricultural Governance Index (DAGI), was spearheaded by Feed the Future Agricultural Governance Resilience in Economic Empowerment (AGREE) Activity, a project implemented by CARE International Ghana, with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Among other things, the initiative is to ensure a stable income for farmers, as metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) are to ensure that at least five per cent of their expenditure goes into agriculture, with 40 per cent of their annual expenditure being spent on post-production activities.
DAGI’s importance
At the launch of the expanded initiative in Accra yesterday, the Head of the Local Government Service, Dr Nana Ato Arthur, said his office would ensure the integration of agricultural indicators into the Local Government Service Performance Management System for MMDAs and Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs).
He said the project was important as agriculture was the backbone of the nation, contributing significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and providing employment opportunities and ensuring food security for the citizenry.
That notwithstanding, Dr Arthur said “for too long, the potential of this vital sector has been overlooked and its challenges ignored.”
The head of the Local Government Service added that the government was committed to changing the narrative and was undertaking some interventions in the agricultural sector to create jobs and contribute to the economic growth of the country.
Dr Arthur said the project, which was to prioritise resource allocation in agriculture at the local level, would also forge a path towards sustainable development and economic prosperity.
“We are taking a crucial step towards ensuring that agriculture receives the attention and resources it rightfully deserves,” he said.
Effective implementation
The Chairman of the Public Services Commission, Professor Victor K. Agyeman, expressed optimism that the effective implementation of the programme would help transform agriculture in the country.
He, therefore, appealed to MMDAs to take advantage of the opportunity that the programme presented and execute it according to the specifications.
It was his belief that its successful implementation would help transform agriculture in the country.
Providing the 2017 data on agriculture, Prof. Agyeman said the country imported $191 billion of goods last year, out of which $600 million and $200 million went into the importation of rice and tomatoes respectively.
“We need to act now to enhance our agriculture to ensure food security, otherwise data shows food prices will increase by almost 60 per cent in the next 20 years and if we factor in climate change, it will be 120 per cent,” he added.
Partnership
The Country Director of CARE Ghana, Rose F. Tchwenko, in a speech read on her behalf by the Programme Team Leaders, Food, Nutrition and Security at CARE Ghana, Agnes Loriba, said the organisation recognised the development mandate of the government and its agencies.
The collaboration with the Office of the Head of Local Government Service (OHLGS), she said, had been essential in the implementation of the AGREE project by leveraging their structures and expertise during consultations, training, monitoring and assessment of local government performance.
By expanding the DAGI benefits nationally, Ms Tchwenko said it would help assess the responsiveness of all MMDAs to agricultural development in Ghana.
The USAID/Ghana Mission Director, Kimberly Rosen, said the United States was Ghana’s largest partner in development, providing over $150 million in assistance to supporting health, economic growth, agriculture, education, governance and social cohesion.
“Through our partnership with the people of Ghana, we have saved lives and strengthened systems for local economic development, particularly in agriculture,” she said.
SOURCE: GraphicOnline
