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Ghana government looks to create 1.5m farming jobs in two years

The government in Ghana is looking to create up to 1.5 million jobs in the next two years with plans to invest in agriculture as the West African nation seeks to ensure food security and drop import costs, the minister for agriculture stated.

The plan comes after President Nana Akufo-Addo was elected in December after pledging to boost the agricultural sector and create jobs in a country where almost half of people between 15 and 24 years are unemployed.

Farming “is going to take off in a very big way,” the Minister of Food and Agriculture Owusu Afriyie Akoto said in an interview in the capital, Accra. “The target is to create 750,000 jobs in the coming season on the farms and then next year we are going to double that to 1.5 million jobs.”

The program is launching in April and will focus on raising the output of corn, vegetables, rice and other crops, Akoto said. The government will supply farmers with better seed and fertilizers while training them in growing techniques in a country where most production comes from small-holder farms, he said.

Measurable Outcomes
The initiatives will help Ghana to reduce its reliance on imports, Akoto said. Ghana’s annual food inflation rate rose to 9.7 percent in December, from 8 percent the year before.

The country has a ban on GMO seeds, however they will use seeds developed by the state-controlled Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Akoto said.

“Our scientists have used the traditional hybrid method to develop high-yielding, drought resistant seeds,” Akoto said. “All these varieties are sitting gathering dust on the shelves of our universities.”

source: naija247news.com
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