The Ministry of Food and Agriculture on Wednesday launched the distribution of agro-inputs for ‘Nkoko Nkitinkiti’ initiative to support smallholder farmers through Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (GAFSP).
The programme is being implemented by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture with funding support from the African Department Bank (ADB) and GAFSP aimed to strengthening food and nutrition security in Northern Savanah Ecological Zone.
Mr Eric Opoku, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, launching the project here in Tamale, said the project was a strategic scale-up of the successful intervention of the Savannah Investment Programme.
This, he said, was carefully designed to broaden its reach, improve livelihood and contribute meaningfully to the government vision of building sustainable and resilient food systems.
He said this aligns with the Feed Ghana Programme and was being implemented in twelve selected Districts across six Regions in the northern part of the country.
Some of the Districts, he mentioned, include Tamale Metropolitan, Mion, Savelugu and Nanton Districts, all in the Northern Region, West Gonja in Savannah Region, East Mamprusi, and Mamprugu Moaduri in North East Region, Bawku West in the Upper East Region, Wa Municipal, Nandom, and Sissala East in the Upper West Region and Krachi East in the Oti Region.
He said the Districts were carefully selected to ensure concentrated and measurable impact as other government interventions continue to serve additional districts across the country.
Mr Opoku stated that the project was aimed at increasing climate-smart local food production and enhance food nutrition security, especially for women, youth, and vulnerable groups.
The Northern Regional Minister, Mr Ali Adolf John Mburudiba, said the growth of agriculture was the main driving force for rural development and transformation.
“So, together, let us make this happen and contribute to the national agenda of reducing poverty rates and improving the livelihood of the targeted beneficiaries and own the success of the programme,” he stated.
He added that the interventions under Feed Ghana Programme (FGP) amongst others, include Increased Agricultural Productivity to Reduce Imports and Enhance Food Security and Improve Nutritional Outcomes.
This, he said, the two out of the six interventions would focus on providing improved seed and fertilizer, promote household and commercial poultry to ensure increases in production of major staple crops such as maize, rice, vegetables and poultry production for improved food self-sufficiency and nutrition, especially in children.
Mr Mburidiba said the Feed Ghana Programme was launched to help deliver targeted solutions to the problems within the agricultural sector.
The Regional Minister also thanked the African Development Bank for their continuous support to the Ministry of Food and
Agriculture and said the records indicate that since 2018, the Bank had created commercial farms in selected Districts in the Northern Regions through the implementation of Savanah Zone Agriculture Productivity Project (SAPIP), Savannah Investment Programme (SIP) and SADEP.
He said these Projects had over the years, developed 40,000 hectares under commercial production of key staples and support poultry farmers to increase production of chicken.
FROM YAHAYA NUHU NADAA, TAMALE
