Medium-term National Development Policy Framework, Agenda for Jobs: Creating Prosperity and Equal Opportunity for All 2018 - 2021.

This Medium-term National Development Policy Framework is a multi-sectoral document aiming at putting into practice the Vision, policies and programs outlined to guide the overall economic and social development of the country, and follows the implementation of the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (GSGDA II), which was implemented over the period 2014-2017. The government’s medium-term Vision goal is to create an optimistic, self-confident and prosperous nation, through the creative exploitation of our human and natural resources, and operating within a democratic, open and fair society in which mutual trust and economic opportunities exist for all. The four broad goals for the period are (1) create opportunities for all Ghanaians; (2) safeguard the natural environment and ensure a resilient built environment; (3) maintain a stable, united and safe society; and (4) build a prosperous society. Key interventions regard the following areas (i) restoring the economy; (ii) transforming agriculture and industry; (iii) strengthening social protection and inclusion; (iv) revamping economic and social infrastructure; and (v) reforming public service delivery institutions.
The Policy strategic objective are (i) economic development, aiming at building a prosperous society; (ii) social development, aiming at creating equal opportunity for all; (iii) environment, infrastructure and human settlement development, aiming at ensuring a resilient built environment while safeguarding the natural environment; (iv) Governance, corruption and self accountability, aiming at maintaining a stable, united and safe society; and (v) strengthen Ghana’s role in international affairs.
To help eliminate hunger and food insecurity, the Policy main proposals are (i) livestock and poultry development for food security, such as cattle ranching and incentives to the private sector to develop grazing reserves for ruminants and livestock, research into large-scale breeding and production of livestock; (ii) intervention to be known as Aquaculture for Jobs and Food; (iii) measures to reduce food loss and waste; and (iv) production of diversified, nutrient-rich food.
In order to make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable, the Policy envisages many measures in each sector, such as (i) investment in research and development of climate-resilient, high-yielding, disease- and pest-resistant, short-duration crop varieties; (ii) access to mechanization along the agriculture value chain; (iii) incentives and other measures to encourage the adoption of less exploitative and non-degrading practices in agriculture; (iv) efficient water use, irrigation infrastructure and systems to harvest excess water for irrigation as well as appropriate, affordable and modern irrigation technologies (i.e. use of solar and wind energy for irrigation, differential energy pricing for irrigation schemes); (v) building capacity of farmers to use meteorological information; (vi) recycling and safe re-use of wastewater; (vii) training, research-based and technology-led development for sustainable forest and wildlife management; (viii) gene banks for indigenous species and refuge areas for threatened, endemic and rare species; (ix) alternative sources of livelihood, including provision of bee-hives to forest fringe communities; (x) mining and logging activities undertaken in an environmentally sustainable manner; (xi) regulate harvesting and eliminate illegal, unreported, unregulated, destructive fishing practices and reduce post-harvest losses; (xii) sustainable development and management of aquaculture; (xiii) sustainable marine conservation and protection; and (xiv) development of early-warning system for detection of invasive alien species.
For rural poverty reduction main possible actions are (i) provide support for small- and medium-scale agro-processing enterprises through the One District, One Factory initiative; (ii) expand social and economic infrastructure and services in rural areas; (iii) promote rural enterprise development, financial inclusion, service delivery, capacity building and local economic development; (iv) provide basic infrastructure such as potable water, sanitation, electricity, road networks, schools, health facilities, low-cost housing; and (v) facilitate sustainable use and management of natural resources that support the development of rural communities and livelihoods.
To enable more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems, proposed interventions aim to (i) promote a demand driven approach to agricultural development by linking both smallholder and commercial producers to industry; (ii) develop market support services for selected horticulture, food and industrial crops; (iii) support the establishment of stakeholder-controlled marketing companies for grains and selected products; (iv) expand organic farming to enable producers to access world demand for organic products; (v) develop tailor-made agricultural financing; (vi) support the development of at least two exportable agricultural commodities in each district; (vii) facilitate the provision of community-owned and managed small-scale irrigation; (viii) mainstream gender and disability issues in irrigated agriculture; (ix) support post-harvest activities; (x) ensure continuous expansion and upgrading of road infrastructure connecting farms to marketing centers; (xi) implement commodities trading centers focusing on grain, vegetable and tuber marketing; (xii) promote insurance schemes to cover agriculture risks; (xii) support youth to go into agricultural enterprise along the value chain (i.e. off-farm activities such as handling, processing, packaging and transportation) and support them to have access to land; (xiii) implement a new youth employment module to be known as Youth in Aquaculture Development; (xiv) encourage women artisans and other tradespeople including farmers to form associations for easier access to information and other forms of support; and (xv) strengthen involvement of local communities in the management of forests and wetlands through mechanisms such as co-management systems.
To increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters, main actions are directed to (i) reduce greenhouse gases (focusing on energy, agriculture, forestry and waste sectors); (ii) develop climate-resilient crop cultivars and animal breeds; (iii) promote and document improved, climate-smart, indigenous agricultural knowledge; (iv) promote mangrove forest replanting and planting of other vegetative cover to contain erosion; (v) promote tree planting and green landscaping in communities; (vi) promote climate-resilience policies for women and other vulnerable groups in agriculture; (vii) improve management of waste disposal sites to control greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs); (viii) strengthen the participation of local communities in sustainable coastal management practices; (ix) control sand mining along beaches; and (x) formulate national strategy to mitigate climate change induced diseases.