Kumasi, Jan. 29, GNA – The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has stressed the need for the government to implement pragmatic and effective policies that will encourage more people to go into agriculture to boost food production.
He said there should be deliberate practical policies to encourage the youth to embrace agriculture to help expand farming activities to feed the people and reduce the import of staple foods.
Addressing the board members of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), at the Manhyia palace in Kumasi, Otumfuo Osei Tutu said Ghana could not continue to import food from other countries.
“Ghana cannot be importing food from other countries, imports take away more money from the country.
“When we help the farmers with logistics to work more, certain food crops can be produced year after year and the imports on commodities such as rice, and others will be no more.
“Ghana is an agrarian country and every person into agriculture is helping to develop the country, every little acre one cultivates counts”, he stated.
The board members were at the palace to invite the Asantehene to the upcoming Annual General Meeting of the association and also share with him some of the challenges facing peasant farmers in Ghana.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu pledged to lead the discussions with authorities in government to help put an end to some of the problems confronting farmers, especially the peasant farmers.
Alhaji Abdul Rahman Mohammed, President of the PFAG, said while the potential of Ghana’s agriculture sector was huge, several problems such as lack of access to farm lands by women and the destruction of farm lands by the activities of “galamsey” operators continued to exist.
Additionally, limited investments in agro-industries and poor feeder roads have significantly affected the activities of peasant farmers, especially youth and women in Ghana.
Alhaji Rahman Mohammed appealed to the government for the implementation of the benchmark value policy reversal of imports, especially for agricultural commodities.
He said an estimated number of 100,000 persons who were directly engaged in rice value chain activities risked losing their livelihoods if the benchmark policy reversal was not implemented.
GNA