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Mrs. Joycelyn Gayden and Mrs. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey
Ms. Joycelyn Gayden Brown Hall, Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Ghana, presented her credential letter to Ms. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.
Ms. Hall was accompanied by Abebe Haile-Gabriel Gebre Yohannes, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa.
In March 2020, the Government of Ghana approved the appointment of Madam Hall as FAO Representative in Ghana.
However, due to restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, Madam Hall was unable to travel to Ghana to present her credential letter.
During the interaction, the Minister congratulated Madam Hall on the “well-deserved appointment”.
He also assured the FAO Country Representative of the full support and cooperation of the Government during his tenure and wished him a fruitful and memorable stay in Ghana.
Ms Ayorkor Botchwey highlighted the excellent cooperation from FAO that successive Ghanaian governments had enjoyed since establishing their presence in the country in 1978.
He said that the state of Ghana’s agricultural sector had been greatly influenced by the valuable technical assistance and advice provided by FAO in the implementation of programs and projects in the area of food and agriculture, nutrition and natural resource management.
The minister said that the agriculture sector was the largest source of employment in Ghana, made up mainly of small farmers, whose products were heavily dependent on unpredictable weather conditions, among others.
He affirmed that the Government’s commitment to the sector due to its relevance for poverty reduction is key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Ms Ayorkor Botchwey said the government’s flagship initiatives of ‘Planting for Food and Employment,’ Parenting for Food and Employment ‘and’ One Village One Dam ‘, which were primarily aimed at increasing food production, addressing the problem of food insecurity in the country. and the creation of jobs for the young population of Ghana, were underway and demanded the support of all.
The Minister also highlighted the Government’s value-added strategy aimed at boosting food security, such as reducing retail seed prices, supplying subsidized fertilizers, hybrid seeds and agrochemicals to more than 42,000 small farmers across the country.
He also mentioned the implementation of a deposit receipt system for farmers to help them store their harvest, in anticipation of an appreciating price to protect farmers during the COVID-19 period.
The Minister said that in order for the government to achieve the UN-recommended ratio of one extension officer per 500 farmers, the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) helped close that gap and contributed to the improvement of agricultural production, modernization of the agriculture through education to ensure profit maximization for local farmers.
He said plans were well advanced for the renovation of existing mechanization centers with the support of the private sector to establish, manage and provide affordable mechanization services to farmers, as well as the installation of greenhouses and the training of youth in mechanized agriculture. .
Ms. Ayorkor Botchwey commended FAO for its excellent partnership with Ghana and noted that despite the physical absence of the Country Representative, the FAO Office under the leadership of Mr. Abebe Haile-Gabriel Gebreohannes had functioned well. effectively and had ably supported government policy implementation despite the difficult challenges posed by the pandemic.
He expressed optimism that under the leadership of Madam Hall, the FAO Office in Ghana would expand its collaboration with relevant MDAs to significantly enhance the benefits that the Government and people of Ghana derived from this vital sector.
Ms. Hall, who is a citizen of the United States, said that FAO was empowering women and youth to enable them to contribute to the socio-economic development of the nation.
In the area of fish farming and also fish processing, Ms Hall said that FAO had the right technology that allowed fish to be smoked in one hour instead of nine hours; He added that the technology would go a long way towards reducing the health hazards suffered by small-scale processors.
