The government is to make available 15,000 metric tonnes of improved seeds for distribution to 500,000 farmers under the Planting for Food and Jobs Programme (PFJ) this year.

The seeds include rice, maize, sorghum, soya beans, groundnuts, pepper and tomatoes.

Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Minister of Agriculture disclosed this when he launched the crop season for this year at the Nsawam Medium Security Prisons (NMSP), in the Eastern Region yesterday.

He said the distribution of the seeds which had currently started in the southern part of the country, would be extended to the three regions of the north namely Northern, East and West regions by June this year.

Dr Akoto said in order to extend the boundaries and participation in the PFJ programme, the Ministry was expanding its support to second cycle institutions, universities, churches and traditional rulers.

He assured of government’s continuous support to assist farmers in ensuring that more farm produce were cultivated in the country.

The Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, Patrick Darko Missah said the service achieved 1,379 acreage production of various crops such as cocoa, maize, vegetables among others, nationwide and stated that this year the target was 1,545 acreages.

Mr Missah commended the Government for the assistance over the years such as the supply of tractors and spraying of crops that were infested with worms.

The Regional Commander of the NMSP, Deputy Director of Prisons (DDP), Isaac Egyir, said before the Planting for Food and Jobs, their outfit cultivated between 20 and 25 acres.

On the threat of armyworm outbreak he said the Ministry was prepared to combat further threats adding that, it had adequate stocks of chemicals in the regions and procuring more in readiness to counter any incidence.

CBN To Deploy N60 Billion Intervention Fund In Vulnerable Sector

As part of efforts to stimulate economic activities, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele has disclosed plan by the central bank, in collaboration with the banks to deploy part of the Agri-business, SME Investment Scheme Fund (AGSMEIS) fund to the “vulnerable sector in the next few days.”

This is just as he put the present value of the country’s external reserves at $47 billion.
Emefiele said this in a keynote address he delivered after he received The Guardian “Economic Personality of the Year 2017” award in Lagos yesterday.

He also disclosed that by the middle of this year, the AGSMEIS fund, which was derived from an initiative by the banks to set aside five per cent of their profit after tax year, would have risen to N60 billion.