BUDGET: 349.9 billion to Agriculture Ministry

The Government has allocated 349.9 billion cedis to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the 2002 Budget to enable it to implement its programmes and policies.

The allocation represents 27.3 per cent of the total budgetary allocation for the economic and services sector.

The Minister of Finance, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, announcing this when he presented the 2002 budget to Parliament in Accra on Thursday, said the Agricultural Services Investment Programme, which Parliament approved in July last year, would receive a budget support totalling 121 billion cedis in the first year.

The Minister said of equal importance would be the support for smallholder rice farmers to help reduce rice importation. The government hopes to reduce rice imports by 30 per cent in 2004. Mr Osafo-Maafo said other key strategies were to increase production of selected food crops to ensure food security.