Kumasi – June 18 – 20, 2019: The Office of the Head of the Local Government Service (OHLGS) participated in the 2019 Joint Sector Review (JSR) of the agriculture sector held at the Miklin hotel, Kumasi in the Ashanti Region. The review session organized by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) was themed “Improving Planning, Co-ordination and Results Management for Food and Jobs”. There was a wide range of participants from the public sector, private sector, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Development Partners (DPs). Also present were the Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Collins Ntim, Minister of State in Charge of Livestock, Hon. Dr. Gyiele Nurah and a member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Agriculture, Hon. Samuel Abdulai Jabanyite.
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Hon. Simon Osei Mensah in a welcome speech reiterated government’s commitment in advancing policies and activities in the agriculture sector. He stated that the Local Government Service had recruited qualified agricultural personnel to boost the implementation of the government’s flagship programme, Planting for Food and Jobs. The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto and the First Secretary of the Canadian High Commission in Ghana, Marie Claire Harvey expressed satisfaction about participation and the level of commitment to the development of agriculture.
Several presentations on contributions to the agricultural sector were made followed by a breakout session which gave opportunity to participants to engage in groups for policy dialogue. Panel discussions included how the public and private sectors including CSOs and DPs could contribute to effective coordination to yield the necessary results.
In the closing session, the Director of Planning, Policy, Monitoring and Evaluation at MoFA, Angela Dannson expressed delight and appreciation about proceedings and stated that this JSR was an improvement over that of the previous year and that inputs made would help to improve and develop diverse policies for the agriculture sector.
The JSR of the agriculture sector was introduced in 2008 as part of efforts to harmonize and improve sector policy dialogue and coherence. The annual review was aimed at reaching consensus among key sector stakeholders: public sector, private sector and development partners on important achievements in the sector in the preceding year, implementation challenges as well as consensus on priorities. It was expected to inform future plans and budgets for the Agriculture Ministry and sector related public institutions. It also provided the focus for DPs support and private sector participation.