Tamale, March 31, GNA - Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, has said small-holder farmers in Ghana could play a major role in the nation's quest to achieve food security targets. He said developing measures to support small holders farmers to practice modern and commercial farming could make the nation the bread-basket of the African sub-region.

"For the country to be able to feed her people and liberate ourselves from abject poverty, small-holder farmers need to put an end to subsistence farming and embrace modern farming with improved seeds, irrigation facilities and also have access to ready markets, storage and enough technology to prevent post harvest loses," he said. Mr Ahwoi said this in a speech read on his behalf during a two-day stakeholder's review and planning workshop for Breadbasket development on Thursday in Tamale.

The workshop among other things was aimed at developing terms of reference for an interim team to facilitate the startup of initiatives to promote commercial agriculture on a broad scale and is being supported by DANIDA and USAID.

The Breadbasket strategy in Ghana is a means to accelerate and increase productivity and food security, ensure focused investments in high potential areas that are ripe for agricultural development as well as a way of operationalizing the Medium Term Agriculture Sector Investment Plan.

It also sought to create an empowered governance body to promote commercial agriculture that links major public and private sector actors and traditional authorities in the national effort to overcome physical and policy constraints to developing competitive value chains.

Touching on the Breadbasket initiative he said, four areas had been mapped to implement the bread-basket project in Ghana. "We have earmarked the Accra Plains and Afram Plains in the Eastern Region where farmers will be provided with the necessary support including agro chemicals, farm implements, storage facilities and certified seeds all in a bid to increase crop yield and reduce food imports in the country," he said.

Mr Ahwoi said AGRA's programme provides support to farmers in areas such as seedlings, soil health, market viability, supportive policies and innovative finance. The aim, he said, was to bring change in the agriculture sector and to complement government's already existing programmes.

Mr Andre Bationo, a representative of AGRA, said in Ghana Green Revolution had implemented projects that aimed at supporting farmers with inputs and agro chemicals.

He mentioned Ghana Agro-Dealer Development Project, which is aimed at supporting about 2,200 agro dealers and 150 seed producers to ensure increase productivity, incomes and well-being of about 850,000 small-holder farmers.

Mr Bationo said the interventions by AGRA particularly to link farmers to market, would help to remove the frustrations farmers go through in selling their produce and boost their desire to produce more to meet the country's food needs. Mr Lars Joker, Coordinator of Private Sector Programm at DANIDA, said his outfit would continue to complement government efforts to eradicate poverty, employment creation and ensuring food security in the country.