Food safety is critical to the response to COVID-19 – Ms. Huntington | General news

Ms Corey Huntington, Head of Corporation for the Canadian High Commission in Accra, has said that a robust and diverse food supply is an essential part of the health and nutrition response to Covid-19; National guidelines on food safety that are critical for Covid-19, and for maintaining health and preventing malnutrition, are also properly defined and enforced.

She spoke at the launch of the National Food Safety Guidelines for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDA). The guidelines are a consolidation of those so far dispersed into a single policy document for ease of reference, regulation and compliance. The goal is to protect the environment, improve food safety for public health, ensure access to global quality food trade, and ultimately contribute to national development.

“As you know, food safety is a crucial aspect of the food value chain and care must be taken to ensure that all members of society, especially children and those with particular vulnerabilities, consume safe and healthy food for their growth. . and productivity, ”Huntington said.

He spoke about Canada’s financial and technical assistance to Ghana in the development of the Food Safety Guidelines and said it was to create greater national awareness regarding food safety, which will contribute to improved health, increase access to trade. of quality food, reduce poverty, improve productivity and national development.

Canada’s support for food security, he said, is part of the Ghana Agriculture Modernization Program (MAG), for which Canada is directly providing $ 125 million to the Government of Ghana. It is to help modernize the agricultural sector, which has significant potential to reduce poverty and inequality in Ghana. In part, it is aimed at increasing local agricultural production capacity. This has resulted in a greater availability of locally processed nutritious food. About 6,000 pregnant and lactating women have benefited from this to help prevent stunting in children.

The MAG Program’s main objective is to improve the production and productivity of farmers. It intends to achieve this by supporting the implementation of a comprehensive market-oriented approach to agriculture. It focuses on strengthening and modernizing the provision of agricultural extension services at the national, regional and district levels. The initiative operates in the context of current decentralization policy in Ghana, hence the role of the Ministry of Local Government as a key partner in implementation.

The expected result of the MAG Program is a more modern, equitable and sustainable agricultural sector that contributes to food security. Therefore, at the center of the program is the issue of food security and its impact on ensuring the food security of the population. The lead agency for the implementation of the food safety guidelines is the MLGRD, particularly since the MMDAs are the focal points for the implementation of these guidelines.

Ms. Huntington emphasized the need to integrate food safety guidelines into the statutes of MMDAs across the country, adding, “We have come a long way together since Canada first invested in food security and decentralization in Ghana. Every milestone, like today’s launch, brings us closer to our shared goals. ”