By Catherine Ahiador:
Hon Alhassan Yakubu, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture has advised Ghanaian youth to talk less and act more in their quest to break the barriers of opportunities. Narrowing his call down to young people in the agric sector and those with aspirations to make a breakthrough in the sector, the deputy minister stated that agriculture is not a bed of roses and that it is not a sector that demands little or no attention as the erroneous impression portrays.
Honourable Alhassan Yakubu stated these in an interview with Rite news during the African Youth Network For Agriculture Transformation (AYNAT) workshop in Accra. This is in line with the ideals of the AFRICAN YOUTH NETWORK FOR AGRICULTURE TRANSFORMATION (AYNAT) which aims to inculcate the love of agriculture in the youth.
Honourable Alhassan who touched on a wide range of issues also touched on agricultural production in the country. He explained that cassava shortage in the country was a problem and that a critical technical analysis on the shortage of cassava in the country supports this assertion.
He stated that last year, Ghana produced about 17 million tons of cassava when local demand added up to only 10 million in consumption.
He explained that the brewery companies cannot be the cause of cassava shortage in the country, adding that there’s always enough left for consumption.
A wider scope of agriculture shows that agriculture deals with a lot of sectors like maize production, rice production, cassava production, aquaculture production, cotton production, mushroom production and poultry production. The main aim to promote the poultry sector is to prevent the importation of frozen foods from other parts of the world into the country.
The African Youth Network for Agriculture transformation was chaired by Madam Afia Nyantakyi. A lot of dignitaries who also sat in included Mr. Tony Mpoy, USAID representative for Africa, Hon. Bright Demordzi, Member of Parliament for Bortianor, Mr. Ernest Monaco, Operations Manager, AYNAT as well as Mr. John who moderated the event.
Source: ritefmonline.org
