Major Courage Quarshigah (rtd), Minister of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) on Tuesday told Parliament that the ministry is to pursue policies that would promote agriculture and rural development with the aim of satisfying domestic consumption and providing food security.

He said the Ministry would thus facilitate increased production of major staples including rice, maize, plantain, roots and tubers this year.

Major Quarshigah was moving for the parliamentary approval of 453.8 billion cedis as budgetary allocation to the ministry.

He said it is envisaged that additional 72,000 metric tonnes of milled rice would be produced while maize output would be increased by 10 per cent to ensure the establishment of buffer stocks.

The Ministry would encourage agro-processing to reduce post-harvest losses.

Major Quarshigah said the ministry has in consultation with fertiliser importers and the Agricultural Development Bank worked out modalities for ensuring timely importation of the product for sale at affordable prices during the 2001 farming season.

Another area of emphasis is the re-launching of the sugar industry for the local production of sugar from sugarcane.

Under the livestock sub-sector, Major Quarshigah said plans have been instituted to reduce mortality among village chicken, in addition to efforts to control diseases in both ruminants and non-ruminants and improving the productivity of indigenous breeds.

Major Quarshigah said as a measure of controlling marine and inland stocks, the fisheries directorate in collaboration with the Ghana Navy would carry out naval patrols in the marine sector while a 24-hour-surveillance on the Volta Lake would be mounted.

The implementation of the small-scale irrigation development project, under which 6,000 smallholder farmers would be assisted to cultivate 2,592 hectares, would be intensified.

Mr Alex K. Korankye, Chairman of the Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs in a report called on the Members to support women farmers with part of their Common Fund.

He said it was the view of the committee that anti-rabies campaigns should receive national attention and priority given to the procurement of vaccines to effectively control the disease.

Mr Johnson Aseidu Nketia, NDC Wenchi West wondered why the issue of buffer stocks envisaged by the MOFA was not covered by the budget and advised that the private sector should be made to handle it.

He called for incentive packages to be made available to extension service providers to assist farmers with new technologies to improve productivity.

Incentive packages like tax concessions should also be directed to the banks to grant agricultural credits to farmers to boost production, he added

Mr Nketia said the issue of increased producer price of cocoa was a sure way of reducing the smuggling of the commodity across the borders and called for private participation in the proposed mass spraying of cocoa farms.

Mr George Isaac Amoo, NPP Ayawaso West Wuogon expressed concern about the increase in the importation of rice, which he said is a disservice to the local rice farmer.

He called on the Ministry to set up a committee to investigate the apparent collapse of the numerous rice projects and to find solutions to revamp the rice industry.

Dr Alfred Sugri Tia, NDC Nalerigu, said the collapse of state institutions such as the Meat Marketing Board and Ghana Food Distribution Corporation calls for measures of not only revamping the various institutions but equipping them to establish a buffer stock to save the declining agricultural sector.

He called on the Ministry to lend its support to the Animal Husbandry Department towards improving livestock production and especially the indigenous West African short horn cattle, which are resistant to diseases.

Dr Bonne Edward Baffoe, NPP Asokwa East, said the issue of erosion should be addressed since it depletes soil fertility and affects yields and productivity of farmers.

He suggested the preparation of land capability maps at the district, regional levels and sector agencies to support people venturing into agricultural production