President Akufo-Addo has said the government is committed to reducing food imports in the country with the launch of the Planting for Export and Rural Development programme.
Nana Akufo-Addo said initiatives such as Planting for Food and Jobs are geared towards addressing the huge import of food into the country.
The President was speaking at the launch of the Planting for Export and Rural Development programme in the Central Region.
“In the agricultural sector, we have to grow our exports and reduce drastically our food import bill which is shot through the roof in the last decade. This is what the Planting for Food and Jobs Programme seeks to do.”
The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and Ministry of Food and Agriculture rolled out the PERD programme to develop nine commodity value chains namely Cashew, Coffee, Cotton Coconut, Citrus, Oil Palm, Mango, Rubber and Shea through a decentralised system.
The programme seeks to create a sustainable raw material base for the industrialisation drive for One District, One Factory initiative.
The 5-year PERD programme will support one million farmers in 170 districts with certified free planting materials to cover over one million hectares of farmlands.
It will also engage 10,000 young graduates as crop specialized extension officers.