Ghana, China enter into co-operation on food security

Twenty-eight Chinese experts would arrive in the country soon to assist in the implementation of a Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS), Major Courage Quashigah (rtd) has announced.

He said most of them would be assigned to the Northern and Upper East Regions adding that farmers in the Oncho-freed Zone would benefit.

Major Quashigah was speaking at the closing of a day's "National Workshop on Socio-Economic Development in the Oncho-freed Zone" at Tamale on Friday.

The workshop was organised by the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), United Nation's Development Programme (UNDP), World Health Organisation and the National Oncho Secretariat.

The workshop afforded experts to present a five-year project formulation report for the smooth implementation of SPFS.

Major Quashigah announced that 9.5 million hectares of fertile land in the Zone would be made available for food production. -

Major Quashigah said the pilot investment project in the Zone would revamp agriculture, improve processing and storage facilities, marketing, education, health care delivery, sanitation and infrastructure development.

The project would also cover the provision of dams, micro-irrigation facilities and roads.

He called for collaboration between the ministry and the district assemblies in the Zone to ensure a successful implementation of the rural infrastructure development and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture's (MOFA) Village Infrastructure Project (VIP).

He appealed to the assemblies to establish rural banks to manage the village development funds and establish strong linkages with the SPFS.

Those implementing the project should adopt the participatory community planning approach used in the project formulation process.

They should blend farmer-centred extension methodology and farmers' field school concept to disseminate knowledge to the communities.

These approaches, he said, would enhance the success of community capacity-building component in the Zone.