Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Gratis Foundation, Mr. Emmanuel Asiedu has bemoaned what he describes as taking of the country’s farmers for granted.
Mr. Asiedu expressed concern over what in his opinion amounted to disregard for the most critical profession who ensure that food is provided onto everyone’s table.
“Most of us take for granted, our farmers and this amounts to disregard for the most critical profession who ensure that food is provided onto everyone’s table,” Mr. Asiedu said. “They should not be taken for granted but rather recognized as such because no one can live without eating.”
The CEO expressed these sentiments in an interview with Captain Adabugar during the Rite Morning Ride to share his views concerning the upcoming farmers’ day.
He pushed for the youth to be lured into the sector by giving what he describes as ‘enough packages’ to awardees during the celebrations.
“The government should really invest into the Agric sector by giving the awardees enough packages that will lure the youth especially to go into farming because farming is a sacrificial and demands very hard work as compared to other professions,” he asserted.
According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gratis Foundation, eighty percent (80%) of the population are farmers which mean that the profession is a noble and respectable one which must be recognized as such.
He advocated for farmers to train their children in the farming business in order to take over from them when they are no longer in the occupation.
He recounted previous years where every child owned a school farm and lamented that such practices were now defunct.
“Previously, every school had a farm where students visited on Fridays after school. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case and this is killing the interest in farming. This is because if students are not trained to farm, they will never grow up and develop the interest in farming because the human body is a system,” he said.
He praised the NPP government for “its commitment to the development of the agric sector” which he said was his observation after going through the 2018 budget and urged farmers to consider farming as a serious business.
Agriculture has a central role to play in promoting growth and poverty reduction in the Ghanaian economy at this stage of our development and Ghana needs an agricultural revolution based on productivity growth; this will raise almost a million more Ghanaians out of poverty, improve rural livelihoods significantly, and make a dent in the poverty of the rural savannah, especially in the North.
However, this will require that civil society organizations, the private sector and the media, and especially our leadership to play critical roles in carving a way forward.
By: Prince Paul Amuzu/ritefmonline.org/princeamuzu667@gmail.com
