By Prince Paul Amuzu:
President of the Concerned Farmers Association of Ghana, Nana Opambour Oboade Osei Bonsu has been sharing his expectations of the upcoming Akuffo Addo government which is scheduled to take over the reins of governance effective the 7th of January, 2017.
The staunch critic of the agric policies of the outgoing government of the National Democratic Congress further took the opportunity to express his frustrations about the dire challenges that continue to confront the agricultural sector, a challenge he puts at the doorstep of the incoming administration to fix.
According to Nana Opambuor, farmers play a very important role when it comes to the economy. These he identified as they providing a source of foreign exchange to the country as well as their provision of raw materials for our factories. Their other role, he noted includes they serving as sources of food and employment.
‘Unfortunately, they are not regarded when it comes to policy formulations and implementations as far as the Agric Sector is concerned’, he lamented.
Nana Opambuor who was speaking on Saturday’s Agric forum with Krobea Asante urged the yet to be sworn in president-elect, Nana Akuffo Addo to appoint a dynamic minister for the agric sector. ‘The minister for agriculture must be reliable, dedicated and someone who understands the sector.’
The individual, he adds must also be a listener to the voices of the farmers.
He was emphatic that majority of the 1.5 million members of the Concerned Farmers Association of Ghana voted for the NPP based on its promises made during the campaign. These promises he mentioned are the ‘one district, one factory; one village, one dam and also the one million cedis per constituency promised.
Nana Opambuor also hoped that the Akuffo Addo administration would also solve the challenges of irrigation through the setting up of an effective irrigation system.
He called on the new government to ensure proper and effective policy implementation to check the importation of goods such as rice which he described as a disgrace to the nation and urged Nana Addo to stick to his promises made to Ghanaians especially farmers.
Source: ritefmonline.org
