Registration of farmers begins

–Under Planting for Food and Jobs Phase 2

By Selorm GBORBIDZI, Accra

The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Bryan Acheampong, has officially opened the registration process for the second phase of the government’s flagship Agriculture policy, Planting for Food and Jobs, now PFJ 2.

The initiative targets to enrol some 1.2 million farmers in the first year.

It is projected to create 210,000 new farm-related jobs annually over the next four years

He stated that the Ministry, after consulting with stakeholders, is moving away from the subsidy programme to an input credit system to enable farmers to improve their production capacity.

“The PFJ 2.0 programme takes a holistic view of the value chain approach by strengthening linkages among actors along selected agricultural commodity value chains and improving service delivery to maximize impact.

“A significant difference between PFJ 2.0 and the initial program is the substitution of direct input subsidy with a smart agricultural financial support system in the form of a zero-interest input credit system, where payment will be in-kind,” he explained.

The Revamped PFJ, he explained, is anchored on five strategic elements, namely: an Inputs Credit System, Storage and Distribution Infrastructure, Off-take Arrangements or Commodity Trading, a Digitized Platform and Line of Sight Management and Coordination.

He outlined the eligibility criteria for persons interested in registering for the PFJ Phase 2, stating that such persons must have access to land or a farm, capture their profile at the district level, provide farm or land coordinates, be a Ghanaian citizen with a valid Ghana card, engaging in farming on prioritized commodity crops, and be a legally registered company or institution.

“Farmer registration for PFJ 2.0 will be conducted across all sixteen regions and 261 districts in Ghana. To facilitate this process, a mobile and web application platform, the Ghana Agriculture and Agribusiness Platform (GhAAP), has been developed.

“Additionally, Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) and other technical officers have been trained on how to use the platform and provided with tablets for data capturing,” he noted.

Dr. Acheampong stressed that “the PFJ 2.0 program is a carefully thought-through initiative designed to build on the successes of the initial program while addressing its limitations.

“The Ministry of Food and Agriculture is committed to ensuring the successful implementation of this transformative approach to empower our farmers, enhance productivity, and foster sustainable agricultural development in Ghana.”

He reiterated that MOFA was committed to ensuring the successful implementation of the transformative approach to empower farmers, enhance productivity, and foster sustainable agricultural development in Ghana.

Dr. Acheampong said PFJ 2.0 built upon the successes of the initial PFJ campaign, which aimed to promote agricultural development, food security, increased productivity, and job creation.

“While the first phase achieved notable successes, it also faced implementation challenges that necessitated a review,” he said.

“To address these challenges and harness the potential of the food and agricultural sector, we engaged in consultative meetings with key stakeholders and focused on new pathways to overcome the limitations of the initial program,” he added.

He said the PFJ 2.0 programme took a holistic view of the value chain approach by strengthening linkages among actors along selected agricultural commodity value chains and improving service delivery to maximize impact. Dr. Acheampong said a significant difference between PFJ 2.0 and the initial programme was the substitution of direct input subsidy with a smart agricultural financial support system in the form of a zero-interest input credit system, where payment would be in-kind.

The minister urged all interested farmers and producers to contact their local Agricultural Extension Agents at the District Department of Agriculture to register for the PFJ 2.0 programme.

Dr. Acheampong said MOFA stood ready to support every Secondary School in Ghana willing to engage in school farming, especially those in the southern and the middle belts.

“When we have done that, you will realize that the schools are able to now feed on the grains, legumes, and cereals they have cropped, thereby leaving what general farmers have planted for the market and the rest of the population, reducing pressure and stabilizing prices,” he stressed.

Persons who are interested in registering for the PFJ Phase 2 should visit www.ghaap.com to commence the registration process.