Medium Term Agricultural Sector Investment Plan II, 2014 – 2017.

The Medium Term Agricultural Sector Investment Plan is a national policy with a multi-sectoral approach. The timeframe of the policy is 4 years between 2014 and 2017. The overall objective of the Medium Term Agricultural Sector Investment Plan is to ensure agricultural development, economic growth, food security and employment and to reduce poverty.
Food security will be ensured through increased nutrition sensitive agriculture. Nutrition status of young children and women, especially pregnant and lactating women will be improved. Nutrition Education will be intensified by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to promote the consumption of micro-nutrient rich food by children and women of reproductive age especially in rural areas. Food availability will be ensured in times of disasters and crisis to enhance the food and nutrition security of poor and disadvantaged groups. Joint planning and implementation programs with relevant institutions will be promoted to address environmental issues in food and agriculture sectors.
In order to make agriculture more productive and sustainable, (i) production, processing, storage and marketing of seeds and planting materials will be improved, (ii) development of staple, horticultural and cash crops will be promoted, (iii) irrigation schemes will be developed and (iv) existing irrigation infrastructure will be rehabilitated to promote water efficiency. Agricultural development will be ensured in an environmentally sustainable manner by mainstreaming sustainable land, water and environmental management practices. Public awareness will be raised on environmental protection, ecosystem preservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Land use planning will be developed particularly in urban and peri-urban agriculture. Special emphasis will be placed on increase in agricultural production, livestock breeding, poultry husbandry and fish breeding.
Financial agricultural measures will be carried out to support farmers including women, such as access to extension services and inputs, and subsidies for the procurement of improved technologies. Agricultural education will be promoted. The participation of youth will be increased in agriculture sector. Cooperatives will be developed to encourage farmers for production in agriculture and fisheries sectors. Gender equality will be mainstreamed into agricultural policies, programs and strategies and women participation in decision-making processes will be promoted.
Agricultural research and technology will be applied. Agricultural machinery, tools and other equipment will be provided in collaboration with the private sector. Furthermore to enable more efficient agricultural and food systems, development and introduction of climate-resilient, high-yielding, disease and pest-resistant crop varieties will be supported, taking into account consumer health and safety. Food safety measures will be applied by developing standards and promoting good agricultural practices along the agricultural value chain and moreover public awareness will be raised on food safety and public health. Private sector investments will be increased in agriculture sector. Collaboration between private sector and public institutions will be strengthened to promote agro-processing, storage and marketing. Public private partnerships will be promoted to improve post-production management in the agriculture sector. Fiscal and market measures will be carried out for agricultural competitiveness and integration into domestic and international markets. Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project will be implemented to link both smallholders and commercial producers to industry. Information regarding agricultural and fisheries market will be disseminated to farmers. Agricultural export will be expanded in line with the sanitary and phytosanitary requirements of the importing countries. Pest management strategies and veterinary checks will be applied to ensure plant and animal health.
The National Disaster Management Organization will work effectively in disaster prevention, preparedness and response. Climate change mitigation and adaptation will be integrated into sectoral and district plans. Climate-resilient agriculture and food systems will be developed for the different agro-ecologies. Early warning system will be established for emergency preparedness against natural disasters as well as pest infestation.
The institutional cooperation and collaboration will be strengthened through a joint platform including intra-sectoral and inter-ministerial institutions. Monitoring & Evaluation system is used at national, regional and district level and the main responsible institutions are the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Office of the President, Parliamentary Select Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs, National Development Planning Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ghana Statistical Service, Local Government Services Secretariat, other ministries, departments and agencies, private sector, civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations. The Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate in collaboration with the Statistics, Research and Information Directorate of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture will be responsible for the coordination of the M&E of the agriculture sector and for collection, collation and analysis of M&E data.