John Dumelo, a prominent politician and farmer, has offered recommendations to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture on enhancing the agricultural sector's growth.

In a recent post on social media platform X, Dumelo proposed two key suggestions aimed at fostering consistent progress in agriculture.

Dumelo's first recommendation is to abolish the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) policy, which he views as a channel for corruption and underperformance. Instead, he advocates for redirecting resources towards investing heavily in irrigation infrastructure for dry season farming.

Dumelo highlights the current scarcity and high prices of crops like pepper, tomatoes, and onions during the dry season due to insufficient production.

He points out that neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have capitalized on this gap by investing significantly in irrigation, enabling them to produce these crops throughout the year.

According to Dumelo, the reliance on rain-fed agriculture leads to cyclical fluctuations in food prices, which could be mitigated through irrigation-based farming.

He emphasizes the need for Ghana to invest in irrigation to achieve price stability and reduce import dependency on neighboring farmers for essential food items.

In contrast, the government introduced a new set of initiatives under the Planting for Food and Jobs programme in March 2024.

This initiative includes a credit system aimed at helping beneficiary farmers expand their farms and address funding challenges.

Minister of Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, explained that the new system is designed to boost food production and reduce import reliance. He assured that efforts are underway to regulate food prices in the market.

While Dumelo's proposal challenges the current approach, Minister Acheampong defends the PFJ programme, portraying it as a well-considered strategy to improve farmers' livelihoods and increase food production.