Renowned economist Ishmael Yamson has dished out a critical take of the government’s Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme describing it as a failed policy.

According to him, a sign of the programme having failed is the hike in food prices even when particular food items are in season.

“How many years have we been doing Planting for Food and Jobs? We didn’t get the food, we didn’t get the jobs but the money was spent,” he said in an interview with JoyNews (November 7).

He stressed that government needed to be more deliberate in boosting the agriculture, manufacturing and tourism sectors, the latter “because it employs large numbers of people.”

On the issue of manufacturing, he projected that most factories are retrenching staff because of the state of the economy.

“Even the manufacturing, I can bet you that 9 out of 10 factories in Ghana are shedding numbers. So those figures that we are quoting, what will they mean to people,” he stressed lamenting that “poverty levels rising means we have a problem.”

Government recently announced a second phase to the programme after touting the initial phase as successful.

About PFJ

Planting for Food and Jobs is a flagship agricultural Campaign of the Government, with five (5) 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 H. E. 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 Mechanization Services (AMSECs)

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