The Minister of State at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Dr Nurah Gyiele, has admitted government’s flagship agricultural policy, Planting for Food and Jobs, was launched without a policy document and implementation plan.
Policy think tank IMANI Ghana, in its latest report, said it was unfortunate such a flagship programme was launched without a comprehensive policy document and implementation plan.
According to the report, a careful analysis of the five components of the campaign reveals it does not offer any new solutions, but rather an assembly of existing old policies which failed to enhance development within the sector.
Speaking to Class News, Dr Gyiele justified why the programme was launched without any plan but said the implementation plan was now ready.
He said: “We assumed office around April by which time the rains had started and we had to run the programme because the rains had just started. And since launching, a lot has gone in. Supported by AGRA, we’ve recruited consultants who have done an implementation plan for a four-year period, so the implementation plan is ready and the consultants went through consultation. That is why they have kept long in coming out with it.”
However, the General Secretary of the Ghana Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), Edward Karewe, questioned how a programme could be launched without an implementation plan.
Speaking to Class News, he quizzed: “When do you have to launch an implementation plan? Is it after you have started implementing that you now prepare your implementation plan and launch it or you ought to have your implementation plan even before you start the implementation?
“They clearly indicated that there has not been an implementation policy, it is now yet to be launched. Meanwhile, they have already launched the programme and that is why some of us indicated in the past that we must be mindful that we don’t fall into the very problems that predecessor policies suffered. There are no excuses to run into such problems because they are now operating with benefit of the past and therefore they ought to have taken all these things into consideration to make sure they don’t run into problems.”
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
