President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday launched the Government’s flagship programme, Vegetable Development Project (Yeredua) at Kukuom in the Ahafo Region.
The Project, which is a strategic intervention by the Government, is aimed at transforming the vegetable sub-sector, reducing the country’s dependence on imports and enhancing food security.
President Mahama said the launch of the Vegetable Development Project marked another significant step in the Government’s Resetting Agenda.
He reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to expanding infrastructure, supporting small holder, medium and commercial farmers, providing mechanisation services, strengthening storage and markets, investing in agro-processing and value chains, building a resilient, technology-enabled, inclusive agricultural sector.
“With discipline, unity and a shared sense of purpose, we will feed Ghana, we will grow Ghana, and we will transform Ghana,” the President said.
He noted that the initiative represented a bold and strategic step under their flagship Feed Ghana Programme; saying “It reflects our collective determination to transform Ghana’s vegetable sub-sector into a competitive, technology driven.”
He reiterated that the Project was designed to address this long-standing structural weakness and reposition Ghana as a net vegetable producer.
The President indicated that through the Project, the government aimed to build a competitive and sustainable vegetable industry anchored firmly on domestic production.
It was to expand large-scale and smallholder production of tomatoes, onions, and peppers using improved seed varieties and modern agronomic practices, President Mahama said.
In addition, it would strengthen the entire value chain from input supply and production, to aggregation, storage, processing, and marketing, to create dignified, predictable jobs, especially for young people, women, and persons with disabilities, and provide irrigation infrastructure required for all year-round production, he said.
President Mahama said at the heart of this plan was a simple and deniable truth that without water, vegetable production could not thrive and without a year-round production, the nation could not achieve food security or reduce imports.
“This is why irrigation development forms the backbone of the Vegetable Development Project and our overall Feed Ghana Project,” he stated.
President Mahama said the Vegetable Development Project would deliver solar-powered irrigation systems covering 60 hectares of land across six communities.
He noted that farmers involved had begun receiving substantial support in the form of improved feeds, organic fertilizer, agronomic training, and digital advisory services.
The President said a committed buyer, Farm Mates, had been introduced to secure predictable markets for all the farmers’ produce.
Additionally, a modern packhouse would be constructed to handle the grading, sorting, packaging, and cold chain management of all the vegetables that were produced and indicated that the entire project had been carefully designed to be completed within 12 months.
“This Vegetable Development Project will be replicated in many other parts of the country, especially in the north where water availability is a major challenge at many times of the year,” he stated.
Dr Eric Opoku, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, urged Ghanaians who were interested in farming to take advantage of the Yeredua project and go into farming.
He also reiterated the Government’s commitment to modernise agriculture, create jobs, and stimulate agro-industrial development.
Osahene Nana Kwaku Aterkyi II, the Omanhene of Kukuom appealed to the President to construct major roads within the Asunafo South District and to complete abandoned projects at the Kukuom Agriculture Senior High School.
In addition, the Omanhene requested a Bus for the School to ensure the smooth running of the institution.
GNA