Mahama Charges Scientist, Researchers

Daily Guide Thursday 14,2010

By Emmanuel Kubi

THE VICE PRESIDENT Mr. John Dramani Mahama has urged scientists, researchers, farmers and food processors to collaborate as experts to maximize food production and ensure food sufficiency.
Tasking the scientists and researchers not to allow their agricultural findings in the areas of improved seeds and animal species to rest on the shelves, he charged them to make sure it reaches the farmer for maximum utilization that will benefit the entire the nation.
“Improved varieties and species mean more produce for the farmer and the effect would place more food on our tables and also improve the life of the farmer,” he added.
The Vice President made these remarks Tuesday at the official opening of the second Agric Show ‘FAGRO’ at the Trade Fair Centre in Accra dubbed “Sustainable agriculture through appropriate technology.”
According to him though Ghana is on the verge of becoming an oil and gas producer, there is no way agriculture would be denigrated to the background.
“The agricultural sector has remained the bedrock of our economy and has grown over 6.5% this year coupled with government’s prudent economic policies that caused us to record single digit inflation.”
He promised government’s readiness to support and subsidize agro-inputs to make the sector lucrative and sustainable urging those he called “unpatriotic farmers” to stop smuggling subsidized fertilizer to neighboring countries.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Food and Agriculture(MOFA), Kwasi Ahowi noted that the ministry is poised to move agriculture away from over dependence on rain fed and the ineffective irrigation and mechanization systems in the country.
“We are ready to improve the infective irrigation systems, low level mechanization in production and processing, fertilizer application and the poor post-harvest losses that affect productivity,” he noted adding that adhering to modernized ways of managing post-harvest losses as well as the mechanized and commercialization of agriculture would be the surest ways of harnessing the full potentials of the sector.
The minister revealed that the sector contributed well over 40% to the GDP in 2009, recording a growth rate of 6.2% and also employs over 65% of the country’s labor force.