{"id":594,"date":"2017-03-14T19:02:42","date_gmt":"2017-03-14T19:02:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aptnewsgh.com\/?p=594"},"modified":"2017-03-14T19:02:42","modified_gmt":"2017-03-14T19:02:42","slug":"agric-initiative-will-increase-income-levels-dr-afriyie-akoto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aptnewsghana.com\/index.php\/2017\/03\/14\/agric-initiative-will-increase-income-levels-dr-afriyie-akoto\/","title":{"rendered":"Agric initiative will increase income levels \u2014 Dr Afriyie Akoto"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ghana will increase agricultural productivity to international standards through the new policy initiative, \u201cPlanting for Food and Jobs\u201d, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has said.<\/p>\n

The initiative, he said, would take off next month and was expected to increase the income levels of farmers in rural communities, create jobs for young people and enhance food security.<\/p>\n

At the just-ended 12th CII Exim Bank Conclave in India on the Africa Partnership Project, Dr Akoto said agricultural productivity in Ghana currently was quite low even by West African standards and required drastic measures to address imbalances and bottlenecks in the system.<\/p>\n

The conclave was organised by the CII Exim Bank of India. The session provides the platform for the government of India and governments in Africa, as well as industry players in all the countries, to explore partnership towards enhancing growth between India and economies in Africa.<\/p>\n

Food for jobs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Explaining the rationale behind Ghana\u2019s renewed focus on agriculture, Dr Akoto said it would utilise $150 million Indian facility granted to Ghana last year to create mechanisation centres in all 216 districts across the country as part of measures to raise productivity.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder the new programme, Ghana is also introducing irrigation facilities in most farming communities in the three regions in the north of the country in accordance with the government\u2019s one village one dam policy,\u201d Dr Akoto told the conclave.<\/p>\n

The minister, however, called for the immediate implementation of protocols on the facility granted to Ghana to enable the government to begin to utilise the facility for investments in agriculture.<\/p>\n

Trade prospects<\/strong><\/p>\n

The prospects of increasing trade relations between Africa and India, the minister pointed out, were fast rising as demand for luxury foods in India was also likely to rise.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndia\u2019s agricultural sector will have to respond by concentrating on the high value side of the market. This will create an opportunity for the agricultural sector in Africa to supply consumers in India with food items,\u201d the minister pointed out.<\/p>\n

Dr Akoto\u2019s view was that guaranteeing a market for agricultural produce in Africa and improving agro-processing to add value to the goods produced would tremendously reduce poverty in agricultural communities across Africa.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of the great prospects available, there is the need for closer relationship between Africa and India, especially in the area of agriculture,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n

Knowledge sharing<\/strong><\/p>\n

A representative of the government, Mr Mike Oquaye Jnr, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that reducing poverty could only become a reality, if agriculture became a viable sector in Africa.<\/p>\n

He said joblessness and hunger among young people could compromise national security.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf agriculture is made a prosperous venture, it will reduce threats to national security and further reduce incidents of terrorism across parts of Africa,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

credit:graphic.com.gh<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ghana will increase agricultural productivity to international standards through the new policy initiative, \u201cPlanting for Food and Jobs\u201d, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[37],"class_list":["post-594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-agric"],"yoast_head":"\nAgric initiative will increase income levels \u2014 Dr Afriyie Akoto - Apt News Ghana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aptnewsghana.com\/index.php\/2017\/03\/14\/agric-initiative-will-increase-income-levels-dr-afriyie-akoto\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Agric initiative will increase income levels \u2014 Dr Afriyie Akoto - 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