Every SHS to cultivate farms – Agriculture Minister-Designate

The Minister for Food and Agriculture Designate, Eric Opoku has revealed a plan to cushion Senior High School (SHS) feeding and create employment.

According to him, the John Dramani Mahama government as part of its Institutional farming initiative would ensure every SHS owns a farm.

He made this revelations in response to questions about how to strengthen the nation’s agriculture sector during his appearance before Parliament’s vetting committee on Monday, January 20.

The minister-Designate said, “We are also going to encourage institutional farming.”

Under the institutional farming initiative, he explained, “Every secondary school in this country will be required to own a farm.”

Additinally, he noted that he would collaborate with the Ministry of Education to “recruit labourers for secondary schools to help them establish and maintain their farms.”

The minister-designate who is also a Member of Parliament for Asunafo South Constituency in the Bono Region added that the initiative would not only address the issue of inadequate food for secondary schools but also improve the quality of meals served to students.

“If nothing else, we can reduce the cost of school feeding and also enhance both the quality and quantity of the food provided to our students,” he said.

By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme