Head of Service Meets Representatives of SEND Ghana

The Head of the Local Government Service, Dr. Callistus Mahama, hosted representatives of SEND Ghana, a subsidiary of SEND Foundation for West Africa in the LGSS Conference Room on Tuesday 20th September, 2016. The meeting was arranged at the instance of the Head of Service and in response to a request by SEND Ghana and the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) to be granted audience to present their recommendations on the Agricultural Decentralization process. Also present at the meeting were the Chief Director, Mr. Joseph M. Dasanah and Directors of the LGSS.
SEND Ghana identified some challenges of small holder farmers who dominate the agricultural landscape and made recommendations to address them. Highlights of the recommendations were: use of National Service Persons from Colleges of Agriculture as Extension Officers; MOFA and LGSS to approach the Youth Employment Agency for a module on Youth in Extension; creation of Agricultural Sub-committee at the MMDA level; creation of knowledge repository to bridge the knowledge gap between the centre and the local level; and a review of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) guidelines to include specific allocation to support agricultural expenditure at the MMDA level.
The Head of Service explained efforts that have been made and those in the offering aimed to address some of the challenges identified as well as the policy implications of the other recommendations. He said, the LGSS will further dialogue with the Youth Employment Agency for the deployment of paid interns as a short term measure to address the staffing challenges especially in the Agricultural Class.