Food production in Ghana is to receive a major boost as government plans to provide farmers with over 3,000 units of tractors in 2010. Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr. Kwesi Ahwoi disclosed this at this year’s Farmers’ Day celebration in Tamale in the Northern Region. Mr Ahwoi said the tractors, to be sourced from Brazil, USA, India and Japan, will come with other implements such as planters, harvesters and a host of other inputs. Even before this, some combine harvesters have been ordered with 31 having already arrived in the country. The move is part of what he said is a “comprehensive strategy to revolutionalise and accelerate the modernization of agriculture in Ghana” – an aggressive programme to substantially boost food production and make the country self-sufficient in food production. The programme, Mr Ahwoi indicated, will expand land area to be cropped from 11,500 hectares to 240,000 hectares. He also spoke of government’s plans to establish agricultural mechanisation centres in the various districts. Mr Ahwoi said the Mills administration is committed to improving food security in the country, especially, in the aftermath of the global recession and the recent food crisis. “The problem of food insecurity needs to be addressed with long term perspective, eliminating the structural causes that give rise to it,” he said, adding, “Ghanaians are calling for a government that is committed to the cause of national self sufficiency; a government that cares about the wellbeing of all Ghanaians with emphasis on the ordinary Ghanaian,” the Agriculture Minister said. The Agriculture Minister indicated that with the planned mechanisation, enough food could be produced, even for export. “Ghanaians are looking up to a government which appreciates that agriculture should not only be about the production of food for people but create industrial string by providing raw materials both for manufacturing and for export.” The Farmers’ Day celebration is marked on the first Friday of December every year. In Tamale, several farmers attended the programme to showcase various produce, while best farmers were awarded national prizes. Story by Fiifi Koomson/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana