The Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) program, which is one of the strategic flagship agricultural initiatives launched by President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo on 19th April 2017.
The program is aimed at boosting self-sufficiency in selected food commodities, modernize agriculture and stimulate growth through subsidies for food security and Job creation.
Despite mobilizing over 1.2 million farmers and creating over 800 jobs, the program faced significant budgetary constraints posing a major challenge to its sustainability.
The President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo on August 28, 2023 launched the second phase of PFJ program dubbed Planting for Food and Jobs phase II (PFJ 2.0) in Tamale. This phase aimed to transition from direct input subsidy to direct credit system linked to a structured market arrangement.
The five (5) year period of implementation PFJ 2.0 was expected to increase the availability and access to improved inputs, modernization, extension services and output markets.
The Asutifi North District Assembly in collaboration with the department of Agriculture and some Regional Officers from RCC on 19th April, 2024 organized one day durbar to sensitize stakeholders on ongoing PFJ 2.0 farmers registration exercise and overview of the PFJ 2.0 program at Agravi and Biaso.
In addressing the farmers, the District Director of Agriculture stated that the PJF 2.0 will be addressing the difficulty in accessing credit facilities, inadequate productivity and production, instability of food prices and unreliability of food security and resilience.
The participated farmers expressed their appreciation to the assembly for the sensitization program and it was their expectations that the PFJ 2.0 program would increase access to modern farming inputs, improve extension services for better agricultural practices and infrastructure development to enhance market accessibility.