Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has said there is an abundance of food in the country thanks to the government’s flagship Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme to the extent that Ghana is hoping to be a net exporter of rice by 2024.

Speaking on A1 Radio on Thursday, 12 November 2020, on why the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government should be retained in power as part of his campaign tour of the Upper East Region, Dr Bawumia said: “Planting for food and jobs has brought in a lot of food.

“This year new maize has come to meet old maize.

“The food production has been quiet in abundance whether it is maize or rice and so on and this country rather than importing is exporting a lot of foodstuffs and we hope before 2024 that this country will be a net exporter of rice.”

“We want to reduce and eliminate our dependence on rice importation which we have done quite significantly but we hope by 2024 we will be there…” he added.

PFJ is a flagship agricultural campaign of the Akufo-Addo-led government, with five implementation modules.

The first module PFJ (Crops) aims to promote food security and immediate availability of selected food crops on the market and also provide jobs.

This module was officially launched by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at Goaso on April 19, 2017, in the then Brong Ahafo Region.

The five Modules are:

•Food Crops (PFJ)

•Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD)

•Greenhouse Technology Villages (3 Villages)

•Rearing for Food and Jobs ( RFJ)

•Agricultural Mechanisation Services (AMSECs)