The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Eric Opoku, has stressed the need for agriculture to be prioritised in the utilisation of District Assembly Common Fund (DACF).
He said the agenda of the government was to ensure that agriculture became a major source of livelihood to the people of the country.
The Minister made the pledge when the executives of Changing Lives in Innovative Partnerships (CLIP), an NGO, based in Tamale paid a courtesy call on him at his office in Accra on Tuesday.
He said his outfit was collaborating with the Ministry of Finance for agriculture to be prioritised in the disbursement of the DACF.
The objective of the visit was to engage the Minister as part of CLIP’s advocacy on climate change and sustainable livelihoods for smallholder farmers and communities in Northern Ghana.
The Minister also stated that the government was committed to implementing its Agriculture for Economic Transformation Agenda (AETA) to transform the economy.
He mentioned that the government was working closely with community commodity-focused cooperatives in the implementation of AETA.
Mr Opoku stressed the need for farmer groups including the Coalition of Farmers Associations to be community-focused in line with their objectives.
The Minister pledged that the government would continue to partner farmer-based organisations in the Northern sector to promote small-holder farming in the region.
The Director of CLIP, Mr Lukman Yussif, in his address commended the Minister on his appointment as the Minister of Food and Agriculture.
He praised the Minister for his willingness to give a listening ear to the concerns of NGOs in the agriculture sector.
The Director further emphasised the need for a stronger collaboration and engagement between government and NGOs in policy formulation in order to ensure that policies and programmes reflected the interest of the people.
Moreover, he said CLIP had been working for the past 30 years in empowering vulnerable communities through integrated programmes to ensure climate resilience, sustainable livelihoods and community development.
Mr Yussif added that CLIP was part of the E4L Programme to build resilience for smallholder farmers to improve food security
FROM YAHAYA NUHU NADAA, TAMALE
