Entrepreneur, John Dumelo, has advised the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, to scrap the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) initiative.

Dumelo claimed that the PFJ program, launched by President Akufo-Addo in 2017, has become a conduit for corruption.

He urged the minister to invest in irrigation systems for farmers to continue working during the dry season.

In a tweet seen by GhanaWeb Business, Dumelo said, "If I were to advise the Agric Ministry, the first thing I would say is to scrap the Planting for Food and Jobs program. It has been a conduit for corruption and underperformance."

The farmer added, "Invest heavily in irrigation for dry-season farming. The reason peppers, tomatoes, and onions are expensive now is that we don't produce enough during the dry season. Our neighbors, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, have recognized this gap and invested heavily in irrigation to produce these food items for us during the dry season."

The Planting for Food and Jobs program was launched by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on April 19, 2017, to modernize agriculture, improve production efficiency, achieve food security, and profitability for farmers.

According to President Akufo-Addo, the first phase of the program reached over 2.7 million farmers and other value chain actors under its five modules.

SA/OGB

If I were to advise the agric ministry, first thing I will say is scrap the planting for food and jobs. It’s just been a conduit for corruption and underperformance and 2. Invest heavily in irrigation for dry season farming. The reason pepper, tomatoes and onions are expensive… pic.twitter.com/vn4Cjl9UrO

— Farmer John (@johndumelo) June 9, 2024