A Senior Lecturer at the University for Development Studies, Dr. Franklin Mabe has called on stakeholders to take action on the agricultural interventions in the 2022 National and District Composite Budgets to ensure effective implementation.
Addressing stakeholders at the Regional People’s Assembly on the topic ‘Agricultural Interventions in the 2022 National and District Composite Budget’, he said the budget, which had provided agro-based interventions, created an opportunity for stakeholders to enhance farmers’ livelihoods and development.
The event was organised in Tamale by the Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA) as part of the Partnership for Good Governance initiative. It also formed part of the implementation of the Empowerment For Life Programme with its partners Ghana Friends from Denmark to focus on a relevant aspect of the budget statement presented to Parliament.
The project seeks to build a society that supports the actions and rights of deprived areas to overcome poverty more effectively.
Dr. Mabe urged districts and other stakeholders to develop monitoring plans for the provisions in the budget to ensure effective tracking of the implementation.
He stated that research conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service in 2020 indicated that about 80 percent of people in the Northern Region were multi-dimensionally poor, which represented the highest rate nationally.
The senior lecturer added that the Northern Region received lower economic investment resulting in high rates of poverty and food insecurity as well as unimproved livelihood outcomes, which needed to be addressed by stakeholders.
Alhaji Osman Abdel-Rahman, the Executive Director of GDCA, said the Empowerment for Life Programme interventions had contributed to the efforts of the government in bringing development to the doorsteps of the people.
He observed that most of the time citizens were unable to track and engage the government and the local authorities to deliver on the proposed development projects, programs, and policies captured in the budget statement.
He said stakeholders needed to be empowered with the relevant information to track and hold the government more accountable for the proposed agriculture-centered development projects and policies for their districts, hence the event.