Bono East: Farmers laud government for introducing PFJ 2.0 to address Ghana’s agricultural challenges

Agriculture value chain users in the Bono East region have applauded the government for launching the new “PFJ2.0” programme, also known as Planting for Food and Jobs 2.0.

According to the farmers, the newly launched PFJ 2.0 will be a game changer.

The Bono East regional director of agriculture, James Adu told Asaase Business that the phase 2 allows farmers to get a direct credit system linked to a structured market arrangement as against initial the subsidy system by the government.

Additionally, he said, the system will also help tackle the difficulty in accessing credit facilities and the instability of food prices among others.

Speaking on behalf of the farmers during the sensitisation program, the 2022/2023 second national best farmer, Seth Agyei Fosu, commended the government for responding to the pleas of farmers by revising the Planting for Food and Jobs policy.

“This is the relief we have since been praying for. I believe this is the surest way to tackle food insecurity and food insufficiency in Ghana. It will ensure a smooth progress of post-harvest trading.”

On his part, Wofah Addo, the managing director for WAAF Agro Inputs who spoke on behalf of the input suppliers also praised the new policy, emphasising the shortcomings which accompanied the PFJ1.0.

“This PFJ 2.0, I think it is good compared to the previous one which came with several challenges, especially on the part of the government; the money involved, the delays in paying monies owed suppliers which mostly resulted in the shortages of inputs on the market. But as for this one, it is going to be private sector driven which makes it the best,” he disclosed.

Meanwhile, the input supplier also said, one of the fears of the aggregators is how to get back their returns after investing in the farmers.

“One challenge that we see is that our commodity market system in Ghana here is too open for everyone to just sell their produce anywhere they want. So I expect the government to come up with a special system to control the sale of the produce from this particular programme so that, the farmer can have a direct relation with the aggregators when it is time for selling the produce”.

“The government needs to ensure a guarantee of our investment,” he added.

Reporting from Dauda Zul-Kiful in Bono East region