Posted on March, 27, 2019 at 09:12 am
Judith Akolo
Ghanaian Chief Director for Agriculture Robert Ankobiah is urging African countries to invest in Agriculture saying it is the only sector that holds promise to realizing much needed development.
Ankobiah who spoke at the start of the Continental Training on the Malabo Declaration Biennial Review Reporting in Accra, Ghana said the agriculture sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in his country and can do the same in other African states as well.
He noted that apart from providing food, “agriculture is also employing more people people.”
Ankobiah said Ghana has started a campaign dubbed, “Plant crops for food and jobs” which he said is helping to the turn the sector around.
“Ghana is prioritizing agriculture, and the results are showing, agriculture is the fastest growing sector, we have the strategic campaign of planning crops for jobs, and hope when the review comes we will be among the best performing countries,” said Ankobiah.
Ghana provides the mainstream budget with agriculture getting its own budget, but funds are also allocated to sectors that support agriculture “for instance the ministry of roads and highways could construct feeder roads that contribute to agriculture development,” he noted.
He noted that the Biennial reporting system is an important tool that can aid African countries to peer review one another and and learn from best practices to help grow the sector.
“The importance of the Biennial Review process of the CAADP agenda cannot be over emphasized,” he said and added, “Mutual accountability peer review and peer learning are key to achieving the Malabo goals.”
Ankobiah noted that the peer review through the biennial reporting will aid African countries to benchmark on the deliverables adding that already Ghana is about to achieve the 10% budgetary allocation to the sector as envisaged in the Maputo Declaration of 2003 and the Malabo Declaration on Agricultural Transformation of 2014.
At the two meetings, the African Heads of State undertook to increase budgetary allocation to 10% of gross domestic product as well as ensure agricultural transformation for shared prosperity.
The Director of Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation at the Ministry of Agriculture, Angela Mercy Dannson noted that Biennial Review is important in making African governments be able to monitor and evaluate the agricultural investments and whether they are realizing results.
“It is the best approach by the African Union Commission to wake up the African governments to be able to work towards result oriented activities,” she said.
She however expressed concern that African countries are depending on donor funding to fund climate change programs a situation which she noted is not sustainable.
“Rain patterns have changed, agricultural yields are declining and if we do not do something about it, our very lives are threatened,” she noted and urged for targeted funding of the sector to help put in place climate smart agriculture programs to help countries to mitigate and if possible adapt to climate change.
She called on African to set their priorities right taking the example of Ghana, priorities that translate into improved livelihoods for the people.