The Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Emmanuel Agyekum has called on Metropolitan Municipal and Districts Assemblies to partner the private sector to ensure all households have adequate and safe food.

He said innovations on food security through environmentally sound strategies should not lose sight of the need to promote food safety especially in the light of the health challenges people continue to experience.

The Deputy Minister made these comments at the second knowledge sharing network forum on the food security and environmental facility project (FSFEF).

The FSEF, an eighty year project with funding from the Canadian International Organization is to support Ghana's efforts to achieve food security through environmentally sound agricultural practices in the three northern regions.

Mr Emmanuel Agyekum said government has the mandate to safeguard and sustain the food security of the country’s population at large.

“This is clearly set out by the Millennium Development goal on Food Security MDG 1 which seeks to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger," he stated.

He said the world food programme’s hunger map 2014 indicates that 805 million people in the world do not get enough food to live a normal active life and that calls for improved considerations by MMDAs to give priority to agriculture development and food security programmes.

Such programmes, he said must recognize and empower women particularly in critical innovation activities that reduces hunger in communities and the country as a whole.

Mr. Emmanuel Agyekum called for coordination between different central line Ministries particularly the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the Ministry of Finance as well as MMDAs in dealing with food security issues.

He said “it is essential to provide basic infrastructure including roads, wells, dams, markets etc that support the production and distribution of food crops, adjudicate land disputes, create an enabling environment for communities to enhance agriculture in the country."

He said it is expected that by the end of the project there will be an increase use of not only innovative but also environmentally sound technologies and approaches in food security and sustainable agriculture within selected communities in the three Northern Regions.