With funding from Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) in collaboration with the Crop Directorate of Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) will hold a national discussion on Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) policy and the Fertilizer Subsidy programme for 2017.

Peasant Farmers on 28th April 2017, launched the “2017 PFAG fertilizer watchdogs” in Paga in the Upper East Region. The aim was to monitor fertilizer and seed distribution in all hotspots/border towns in the three Regions of the North where fertilizer smuggling is high.

Subsequent to that, PFAG members in all the other ten regions were also tasked by the national executives to monitor the implementation of the PFJ and the fertilizer subsidy programme.

The purpose of this meeting which will be held in Tamale from September 27 to 28, 2017, therefore, is to interact with farmers across the country in order that peasant farmers will be able to provide the government with concrete evidence of successes and challenges of the implementation to help improve future programmes.

The government has said the program will create some 750,000 jobs and would motivate farmers to grow staple foods such as maize, millet, and beans.

In support of this, PFAG will meet farmers to ascertain the extent to which they are benefitting from the policy, the challenges and solicit from farmers how these challenges can be resolved.

The Programme Officer for the Association, Charles Kwowe Nyaaba, said, “The approach of meeting the farmers is to create a platform for government to touch base with farmers and listen to their concerns regarding the implementation of the initiative.”