President Akufo-Addo has claimed that his achievements in the agric sector have been impressive.
Touting his achievements at the 2022 National Best Farmer Award Ceremony last week Friday, the President indicated that his administration has modernised and transformed agriculture.
”The overwhelming evidence points to an impressive performance of Government in pursuit of its agricultural modernisation and transformation agenda.”
According to the President ”From an average of 3.8% in the 5-year period from 2012 to 2016, average annual growth nearly doubled to 6.3% in the period 2017 to 2021. In the most recent years, the sector growth increased strongly from 4.7% in 2019 to 7.4% in 2020 and 8.4% in 2021 – the highest annual performance in the Fourth Republic”.
He stated that ”this sterling performance compares with the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme’s (CAADP) benchmark target of 6% growth of agriculture for the attainment of national food security. Ironically, the highest growth rates posted were in 2020 and 2021 when the COVID-19 Pandemic and other negative forces, such as climate change and outbreak of diseases, were impacting the sector”
To help deal with importation of commodities the country could produce, he said ”As part of measures to ameliorate the current economic difficulties, I have already outlined policy measures to curtail the imports of some food commodities, for which we have comparative advantage. We will use the opportunity of this crisis to accelerate the agriculture modernisation and transformation agenda.
This effort will require strong intersectoral coordination at all levels, and effective engagement and collaboration with the private sector and all other stakeholders in the agriculture ecosystem. Consequently, institutions such as the TCDA and pipeline strategic institutions, like the Grains Development Authority, will be strengthened and supported to deliver effectively on their strategic mandate. We will also co-ordinate effectively with our foreign partners, leveraging their technical and financial resources to support this effort”.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
