A Civil society organisation with interest in social justice, SEND GHANA, and its partners have appealed to the  government to expedite the distribution of  agricultural inputs to farmers under its government’s flagship Feed Ghana Programme, as the planting season begins across the country.

The organisation said delays in the release of seeds, fertilisers and other essential farm inputs could negatively affect this year’s farming season and undermine efforts to improve food security.

In a statement issued in Accra yesterday, SEND Ghana said its interactions with farmers in the Northern, Oti, Volta and Bono East regions indicated that many farmers were yet to receive farming inputs despite the onset of the rains.

It added that checks conducted with Department of Agriculture also revealed that most metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) had not received the inputs for onward distribution to farmers.

Feed Ghana Programme

The initiative was launched by President John Dramani Mahama in April last year to boost local food production, create jobs and reduce the country’s reliance on imported food.

Popularly referred to as ‘Yeridua’, to wit, “we are planting”, the programme is centred on practical farming approaches that involve households, schools, communities and institutions.

It also involves sub-projects on vegetables, grains, poultry, oil palm, tubers and other import substitutes to reduce the country’s reliance on imports, return to a culture of self-reliance and build a stronger food system that works for everyone, from farmers in rural areas to families living in cities.

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