Mr. Speaker, Government continued with the implementation of the five modules of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) flagship programme. EweGhana.Net
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657. Mr. Speaker, Government continued with the implementation of the five modules of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) flagship programme. The aim of the programme is to sustain the gains made in increased productivity of selected crops, food security and job creation after a successful first phase from 2017 to 2020.
Crops and Livestock Development Programme
658. Mr. Speaker, to increase productivity and incomes, as well as improve livelihoods of beneficiary farmers, the Ministry procured and distributed 31,797mt of improved seeds, comprising 11,289mt of maize, 16,382mt of rice, 4,126mt of soybean and 26mt of vegetables to farmers across the country as at September 2021. In addition, 259,500mt of various fertilizers were also distributed to PFJ beneficiary farmers across the country.
659. In 2022, the Ministry will continue to provide improved seeds and fertilizers at subsidised prices to increase production volumes of maize, rice, soyabean, sorghum, cowpea and groundnut.
660. Mr. Speaker, under the Savannah Agricultural Productivity Improvement Project (SAPIP) the Ministry developed 1000ha of farmland at Gbedembilsi, Kojope and Janga for rice production which are estimated to yield about 40 percent above the national average production of 2.5-3.0mt/ha in lowland valleys.
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661.
Mr. Speaker, under the “Planting for Export and Rural Development” initiative, 1,360,589 cashew, coffee, coconut, oil palm, mango and rubber seedlings were distributed to 7,543 farmers in Ahafo, Ashanti, Bono, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Oti, Western, Western North and Volta Regions. This brings the total seedlings distributed to beneficiary farmers to 23,216,000 since 2019.
662. In 2022, the Tree Crops Development Authority will establish zonal offices, train community agents to serve as supervisors, embark on community sensitisation and engage private sector industrial mills such as oil palm processors to raise and distribute seedlings.
663. Mr. Speaker, under the “Rearing for Food and Jobs” initiative, as at September, 2021, 86,000 cockerels, 1,946 small ruminants, 43,200 broiler day old chicks and 4,895 grower pigs were procured and supplied to beneficiary farmers. In addition, 144,000 layers and 100,000 broiler day-old chicks were ordered for distribution to beneficiary poultry farmers across the country. Further, 1,200 poultry battery cages were procured to be distributed to 1,200 female poultry farmers.
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664. The Ministry also completed the construction of 10 out of 11 livestock housing units and 11 mechanised boreholes for 11 livestock breeding stations.
The Ministry produced a total of 7,700,500 vaccines for the control of poultry and livestock diseases in the country. In all, 27,714,923 animals consisting of birds, livestock and pets were vaccinated against Newcastle disease in poultry, rabies in pets, and anthrax, Peste des Petits and Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) in livestock to protect the livelihood of farmers and employment of its value chain actors.
665. In 2022, the Ministry will continue to support livestock farmers by providing 14,000 breeding stock of small ruminants, 8,000 grower pigs, 5 million broiler day old chicks and 20,000 broiler birds.
In addition, the rehabilitation of 14 livestock houses and five staff bungalows in 3 livestock breeding stations will commence. Government will refurbish and equip 10 veterinary laboratories, rehabilitate 6 veterinary clinics and construct 6 veterinary clinics in the 6 new regions.
Mechanisation, Irrigation and Water Management Programme
666.
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Mr. Speaker, to improve farmers timely access to appropriate farm machinery and equipment for agricultural production and increased productivity, the Ministry continued with the distribution of various subsidised farm machinery and equipment (tractors, thresher, maize shellers, planters, boom sprayers) to over 150 individual farmers, Farmer-Based Organisations and service providers.
To effectively handle the agricultural machinery, over 200 tractors and combine harvester operators, and mechanics were trained at Adidome and Wenchi Farm Mechanisation Centres.
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667. Mr. Speaker, 1,000 units of handheld motorised rice reapers (harvesters) were distributed to the 16 Regional Departments of Agriculture for distribution to selected 247 rice farmer groups to enhance the mechanisation of paddy rice harvesting. By end of 2021, the Ministry will take delivery of a range of agricultural machinery and equipment, including combine harvesters and processing equipment worth US$29.9 million under the 3rd and final tranche of the “More Food Programme” to boost the development of agriculture mechanisation.
668. Mr. Speaker, to ensure all-year-round crop production, the Ministry continued with the rehabilitation and modernisation of various irrigation projects which, when completed, will make available a total irrigation area of 6,766ha. The projects are Kpong Irrigation Scheme (2,176ha), Tono Irrigation Scheme (2,490ha) and Kpong Left Bank Irrigation Project (2,100ha) which are at 93 percent, 97 percent and 90 percent stage of completion, respectively.
Other Irrigation projects at Tamne in the Upper East Region and Mprumem in the Central Region which will provide a total of 375ha for rice and vegetable production are at 75 percent and 99 percent stage of completion, respectively.
669.
Mr. Speaker, to complement the “One-Village-One-Dam” initiative, the Ministry completed procurement processes to develop the irrigable areas of 6 out of the 10 completed small dams at Kataa and Duong in the Upper West Region; Vunania in the Upper East Region; Sangbaa in the Northern Region; as well as Kachilende and Sunyeri in the Savannah Region.
This will make an additional 144ha available for irrigation. Rehabilitation and modernisation are expected to improve water use efficiency.
670. In 2022, the Ministry will complete ongoing construction works on the Kpong Irrigation Scheme, the Tono Irrigation Scheme, the Kpong Left Bank Irrigation Project, the Mprumem Phase II Irrigation Project and the Ashaiman Irrigation Spillway.
The Ministry will commence and complete Tamne Phase III which will make 800ha available for the development and production of horticultural crops for export. It is estimated that 15,000 farmers will benefit from the facility.
671. The Ministry will also undertake the following irrigation projects: rehabilitation of Ohawu Agricultural College Dam; construction of the remaining 4 small earth dams to complement the 1V1D initiative; construction of additional 12 small earth dams at: Chabaa, Gilang, Tousal Jayiri in the Upper West Region; Benatabe and Sandema Nyansa in the Upper East Region; Batanyili, Jana Kpeng, Jangua, Nanton Kurugu and Tasundo in the Northern Region; as well as Dole and Sunyeri in the Savannah Region.
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672. Mr. Speaker, in support of the “One District One Warehouse” intervention, the Ministry initiated the construction of 30 warehouses. As at end September 2021, 23 out of the 30 warehouses have been completed. The remaining 7 are scheduled for completion by end of 2021.
This initiative will make available 30,000mt of storage capacity to accommodate anticipated increased production under the PFJ initiative.
673. Mr. Speaker, the Ministry continued to increase surveillance on Fall Army Worm (FAW) infestation across the country. During the period under review, a total of 97,000 litres and 14,000 kg strategic stocks of insecticides were procured and distributed to all 16 regions for FAW management.
A total of 66,099ha was sprayed and recovered through this intervention.
674. As part of efforts to rear natural enemies for biological control of FAW, 15 sites were selected in the Central Region for rearing and release of three million parasitoids. As at August 2021, a total of 80,000 active mass of parasitoids were reared and released.
675. In 2022, the Ministry will procure 40,000 litres and 6,000kg of insecticides for control of FAW. Additionally, 20 plant clinics will be established in the Ahafo, Ashanti and Bono East Regions to enhance management of biological control of the FAW.
Agribusiness Development Programme
676.
Mr. Speaker, the Ministry completed the establishment of a 100-kit commercial greenhouse production unit at Dawhenya. Additionally, as at end June 2021, 60 graduates had completed training in greenhouse technology at the three Training Centres.
This brings the total cumulative number of graduates trained since 2018 to 536 made up of 396 males and 140 females.
677. Mr. Speaker, the Savannah Zone Agricultural Productivity Improvement Project (SAPIP), in collaboration with the Department of Feeder Roads, is constructing roads passing through ten communities in seven MMDAs.
The construction of these farm tracks and feeder roads are at various stages of completion in the following localities:
Tali-Kuli-Lungbun feeder road (11.5km) at Tolon in the Northern Region;
Sanzee, Kudjoe Abimash farm road (6km) at Mion in the Northern Region;
Gunmo-Kochim-Nwodua feeder road (5.8km) at Kumbungu in the Northern
Region
Sandu-Chankpem Junction-Sandu-Chankpem (3.3km) in the Nanton District
of Northern Region;
Walewale-Tianoba-Bugyapaala-Boakudo (15.9km) in the West Mamprusi
District of the North East Region;
Damango-Kpiri (8km) in the West Gonja District of the Northern Region; and
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Zamsa-Gobsa-Chansa Feeder road (7.1km) in the Builsa South District of the Upper East Region.
Sustainable Management of Land and Environment Programme
678. Mr. Speaker, under this Programme, Government, through the "Savannah Zone Agriculture Productivity Improvement Project" (SAPIP) and the "Savannah Improvement Programme" (SIP), is promoting the use of natural resources for agricultural production in the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone.
679. SAPIP supported participating farmers of conservation agriculture with five planters and five boom sprayers as part of an effort to reduce drudgery in farming in 2021. To provide mechanisation services to participating farmers, the project procured the following machinery: 13 combine harvesters; 20 rippers; 10 bailers; 10 seed drills; and 10 fertilizer spreaders.
Additionally, three diesel and one solar powered rice mills were procured to support rice processing in the Savannah Zone. This is expected to boost domestic rice production.
680. Furthermore, capacities of 114 commercial farmers, farm managers, tractor and bulldozer operators were built on climate-smart land clearing, land levelling and seedbed preparation.
COCOA SECTOR
Cocoa Pricing and Production
681.
Mr. Speaker, international prices of cocoa continue to be low. Despite the introduction of the Living Income Differential (LID) pricing mechanism by Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, receipts from cocoa have dwindled because of the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and suppression of international prices for cocoa.
As a result, Government continues to forfeit its share of the net FOB price of cocoa in terms of export duty payments.
682. Government, nonetheless, has kept faith with our cherished cocoa farmers. Producer price was increased by 28 percent to GH¢10,560 per tonne during the 2019/20 season and maintained at that level for the 2021/22 season in the face of cocoa prices being held down at the international market.
683. The trend in Ghana’s cocoa production has turned in a positive direction. In the just-ended 2020/21 season, total production reached an all-time high of 1,045,500 tonnes, a 34.82 percent increase over the output for the previous season. The crop outturn for 2021/2022 season which opened in October 2021, is expected to be above 900,000 tonnes.
684. The increase in production is predominantly due to the vigorous implementation of the Productivity Enhancement Programmes (PEPs) over the past three years.
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Implementation of these programmes at scale has been aided by the AfDB/Credit Suisse facility of US$600 million which was secured in 2019.
685. The PEPs comprise:
a rehabilitation programme that entails the cutting and replanting of diseased
and moribund farms with compensation being paid to affected farmers and
land owners;
a pilot irrigation project, to be scaled up, that will guarantee availability of
year round soil moisture for cocoa farmers and year round harvesting;
hand/artificial pollination that enhances pod load on cocoa trees and
improves productivity over a limited land area;
COCOBOD-led mass pruning and good farm maintenance to boost flower
development and productivity;
increased and cost-effective access to fertilizers for soil fertility improvement
and management under the cocoa Hi-tech programme; and
effective control of pests and diseases through the Cocoa Pest and Disease
Control (CODAPEC) programme.
Loan Syndication
686. Mr. Speaker, for the 2020/2021 crop year, COCOBOD raised a syndicated loan of US$1.3 billion to fund cocoa purchasing operations and support other key activities in the cocoa sector. Despite the disruptions on the international cocoa market brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, COCOBOD repaid this facility, two months ahead of schedule. This was achieved through prudent financial management.
687. For the 2021/2022 season, an amount of US$1.5 billion has been secured by COCOBOD for cocoa purchasing operations at a margin of LIBOR plus 110 basis points. Effective negotiations by COCOBOD’s management, coupled with the easing of liquidity constraints on the international financial market, contributed to the reduction in the margin for this syndicated loan facility.
The facility is expected to be repaid over a seven-month period from February to August 2022.
Digitisation of Cocoa
688.
Mr. Speaker, COCOBOD commenced the digitisation of the cocoa sector through the implementation of the Cocoa Management System (CMS).
The CMS is a comprehensive integrated digital database that captures farm information including polygon maps and physical conditions of farms, farmer household information, inputs and services supplied as well as farm activities and management to aid planning and policy.
689. The project was started in the 2020/2021 crop year and data capture and validation in the Western and Ashanti Regions was completed in August 2021. It will be continued in the other cocoa growing regions during the 2021/2022
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When completed, the system will deploy digital technologies for payments to farmers and stakeholders, aid the implementation of the Farmers’ Pension Scheme, assist in monitoring and provision of timeous information on climate change and land use changes, and effectuate the overall operations of COCOBOD.
Job Creation in the Cocoa Sector
690.
Mr. Speaker, through the implementation of the various cocoa sector programmes, that is, rehabilitation and replanting, mass spraying, fertilizer application, hand pollination, mass pruning, cocoa farm irrigation and farmer database implementation, about 130,000 jobs were created. This is in line with Government’s objective to direct youthful energies into productive ventures, stem the tide of rural-urban migration and improve livelihoods across the country.
691. The Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire cooperation in cocoa was initiated by H.E. President Akufo-Addo and his counterpart, H.E. President Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire, with the aim of providing a common platform for the two largest producers of cocoa in the world to develop common solutions for achieving optimal prices on the international market, and articulate common positions regarding cocoa issues on the international stage.
Some African cocoa producing countries have expressed interest to join the Initiatives.
692. Mr. Speaker, the Charter governing the Initiative and the Headquarters Agreement were ratified by this august House in December 2020, which then paved way for the signing of the Headquarters Agreement.
By this Charter, Accra is the permanent Headquarters of the Initiative and Cote d’Ivoire appoints an Executive Secretary. The Secretariat was duly established in Accra.
693. Through the Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire cooperation, the two countries successfully introduced the LID of US$400 per tonne on cocoa purchased to shore up farmers’ income.
Domestic Cocoa Processing and value addition
694. Mr. Speaker, aligned with Government’s policy of industrialising Ghana and moving more into processing and manufacturing, COCOBOD secured a revolving working capital funding of US$200 million to support qualified local indigenous processors.
695. In order to facilitate small scale cocoa processing and manufacture of chocolate and other cocoa based products, COCOBOD is developing regulations and guidelines for small scale and artisanal cocoa processing.
The regulation will provide a conducive environment for micro and medium scale Ghanaian
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enterprises and entrepreneurs to invest in cocoa processing and local value addition for the domestic and export markets.
Cocoa Roads
To this end, Government, through COCOBOD, allocated an amount of GH¢456.6 million to continue with the CRIP in the 2020/2021 cocoa season. For the current 2021/22 season, an amount of GH¢400 million has been earmarked by COCOBOD for the programme. This is to ease cocoa evacuation from the hinterlands to the take-over centres and improve livelihoods in cocoa farming areas.
Cocoa Farmers Pension Scheme and other Support Schemes
697.
The implementation of the Cocoa Farmers’ Pension Scheme in fulfilment of Section 26(1) of the Ghana Cocoa Board Act 1984, PNDCL 84, took off in 2021. This is a contributory pension scheme and COCOBOD will provide a matching contribution of 5 percent. For the 2021/2022 crop year, COCOBOD has budgeted GH¢74.59 million to meet its obligation under the Scheme. 698.
Mr. Speaker, the inclusion of workers in the informal sector, such as cocoa farmers, in the new three-tier pension scheme will enable them save towards their retirement or old age. This will guarantee income security and improved living standards in their old age, and will also serve as motivation for the youth to take up cocoa farming.
Coffee Programme
699.
Mr. Speaker, to ensure the long-term sustainability of coffee production, reforms to improve the internal marketing environment of coffee were pursued to guarantee coffee farmers ready market and remunerative prices. In the 2020/2021 crop season, COCOBOD made a budgetary allocation of GH¢2.27 million to support activities in the coffee sector. This allocation included raising of the annual target of five million improved coffee seedlings for free distribution to farmers.
700. An amount of GH¢2.08 million was earmarked to support coffee activities in 2021/2022. The objective is to continue with the free distribution of coffee seedlings to facilitate the growth of young plants and improve the productivity of mature coffee plants. In addition, coffee farmers will continue to enjoy extension services from COCOBOD.
The Shea Programme
701.
Mr. Speaker, scientific research on the shea plant is supported by Government through regular funding as part of efforts to make shea a reliable income generating produce. The work by COCOBOD led to a reduction in the gestation
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Fiscal Consolidation and Job Creation period of the shea plant from over 20 years to an average of three years. With this scientific breakthrough, Government is embarking on a programme to promote the cultivation of shea in the north, just as cocoa in the south, to transform the local economies of the shea regions.
COMMENTS