By Edward Dankwah
Accra, June 28, GNA – The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), with support from the Star Ghana Foundation, has organised a training programme for members of the Multi-Stakeholder Platform (MSP) in the Nanumba North Municipality to strengthen budget accountability, safeguarding and inclusive decision-making in agricultural governance.
The one-day capacity-building programme forms part of PFAG’s project, titled “Strengthening Farmers’ Voices to Promote Accountability and Inclusive Decision-Making in Ghana.” The project seeks to empower farmers and other stakeholders to effectively engage local authorities and promote accountability in the management of public resources.
Participants included representatives from the Nanumba North Municipal Assembly, PFAG district executives, civil society organisations, traditional authorities, processors, aggregators, youth and women’s groups, and the Municipal Directorate of Agriculture.
The MSP is designed to bring together duty bearers and rights holders to address challenges facing smallholder farmers while promoting transparency, accountability and inclusive governance within the municipality.
Facilitating a session on safeguarding and inclusive engagement, Dr Roger Akanbisik, Project Officer of PFAG, emphasised the importance of creating safe, respectful and inclusive spaces for all stakeholders in community development initiatives.
He explained that safeguarding involved protecting children, vulnerable adults and community members from abuse, exploitation and discrimination, and urged participants to handle reported cases promptly, confidentially and with respect for the dignity of affected persons.
Dr Akanbisik encouraged participants to uphold safeguarding principles in all project activities to foster trust and ensure that development interventions benefit all without discrimination.
Dr Benjamin Sarfo, Programmes Officer of PFAG, indicated that although agriculture employs about 79.4 per cent of the municipality’s active population, it receives only 1.17 per cent of the total municipal budget allocation.
He noted that agriculture is among the least funded sectors, with 81.6 per cent of its allocation spent on salaries, leaving only 18.4 per cent for field operations and agricultural development activities.
Dr Sarfo further indicated that key investment areas, including irrigation infrastructure, tractor services, post-harvest storage facilities, seed multiplication, support for farmer-based organisations, women farmers, youth agro-entrepreneurship and Good Agricultural Practices, have no dedicated budget allocations.
He called on platform members to use the findings as evidence to advocate increased budgetary allocation and improved responsiveness to the needs of smallholder farmers.
On advocacy for accountability and inclusive decision-making, Dr Sarfo urged participants to develop messages that are factual, solution-oriented, respectful and concise to effectively engage policymakers.
Mr Alhassan Amin, PFAG Focal Person for Nanumba North Municipality, described the training as an eye-opener, noting that it had enhanced his understanding of the municipal composite budget and the reasons behind the low allocation to agriculture.
Mr Hamza Mohammed, Municipal Director of Agriculture and Co-convenor of the MSP, said the training would strengthen advocacy efforts for increased investment in agriculture and encouraged PFAG to sustain stakeholder engagements.
GNA
Edited by Lydia Kukua Asamoah