News:
December 9, 2019
Member of Parliament for Tamale South Haruna Iddrisu is advocating for Ghana to take its agriculture to the next level by adding value to its products.
According to the Minority Leader he has learnt of a report that indicates that the European Union (EU) benefits from cocoa financially than Ghana and Ivory Coast.
“I am trying to get hold of that report to make useful reading, what we are not making useful of cocoa, that we that cannot earn us more value as a country”.
He further pointed out that as a country Ghana is not at the zenith yet when it comes to modernizing agriculture.
“I am yet to see a farmer who has a hundred thousand cedis to deposit to get a tractor as we speak today there is not up to five strong combine harvesters in the Northern Region, farmers scramble just looking for an opportunity to have a combine harvester, to harvest rice”.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu made this remarks on the floor of Parliament when the Minister for Food and Agriculture Dr. Afriye Akoto made a statement on the floor of the House in commemoration of this year’s farmers’ day celebration.
“It is unacceptable for Ghana that every year we spend four hundred and fifty million US dollars to rice importation, whiles we to respect trade protocols with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). We need to do something to improve the production of domestic rice”.
He gave an example of producing rice as he harvested it, it took him more than a year to be able to sell and even with that not all because the company that bought wanted a few, “we should be sufficient to reduce rice importation”.
“Let us change our attitude are we ready to consume locally produce Ghanaians rice if we need to support our local farmers?”
Again, there should be ways of supporting our local farmers with subsidies and the Brong Region they are known for the production of poultry there should be special attention paid to them.
“There is no reason why mango and oranges produce in abundant be left to get rotten and go waste, we should rather be adding value to them”.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com