Make agric catalyst for economic growth - 2022 National Best Farmer to govt
The 2022 National Best Farmer, Nana Yaw Sarpong Siriboe, has called on the government to implement policies that would ensure that agriculture becomes a catalyst for economic growth and sustainable development.
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While praising the government for introducing policies such as the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ), he said there was the need for comprehensive policies that would have a positive impact on the whole agriculture value chain.
“If we do not get the right policies to ensure that we are able to secure what we are getting from the PFJ or policies to limit the influx of certain imported food items, which we are producing, then we are not going anywhere with agriculture,” he said.
Again, he said without policies to ensure that farmers got the best value from their hard work; agriculture would remain unattractive to many people, especially the youth.
“Our market is very sensitive to pricing and a little price increase or decrease can send a farmer out of business.
We need a strong government backing to make agriculture the fulcrum of economic growth in the country,” he said.
Lecture
Nana Siriboe, who is also the Akyempemhene of the Juaben Traditional Area, made the call when he delivered a lecture at the 2023 University of Ghana National Best Farmer’s Lecture at the Great Hall of the university in Accra last Thursday.
The lecture was on the theme: “Resilience, Technology and Humanism: The past, the present and the future of the Ghanaian farmer”.
It was attended by notable alumni of the Akuafo Hall such a former Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Mike Aaron Oquaye, who was the Chairman for the occasion, and lawyer and award-winning journalist, Samson Anyenini, who was the moderator.
Nana Siriboe, 44, said the future of agriculture or what he described as the resilience of agriculture was the youth.
He, therefore, advised the youth not to lose hope when facing difficulties in life but to turn to agriculture as a source of livelihood.
“I am not in agriculture for the passion of it or because it is a hobby.
I am in agriculture because I have found that agriculture is a business which can change livelihoods.
I have been in agriculture for the past 22 years.
It is a money-making venture if only one takes it as a business venture and abides by business principles,” he said.
He said the youth must not be scared to go into agriculture because of monumental risks because anything worth making money or even every activity involved a level of risks.
Technology
The National Best Farmer said there was so much technology and information on such technology, which the youth could access freely to help them become successful in agriculture.
Agriculture, he said, was not only about the operations on the field, but the whole value chain of farm input, processing, packaging and marketing.
“A marketer might be doing agriculture from his house by promoting and making sure that items from the farm get to the consumer.
All these are aspects of agriculture driven by technology,” he added.
He urged the youth to use their phones and take advantage of numerous technologies available and become part of the agriculture value chain, instead of always wasting their time on social media doing things which would add little value to their lives.
As part of helping the youth to get into agriculture, Nana Siriboe said he had established a training centre at Juabeng, which would be opened by officially to offer training on agriculture and agribusiness.
Prof. Oquaye said the importance of agriculture to national development over the years could not be underestimated.
According to him, the country could have reduced the economic hardship brought about by COVID-19 and other global issues if the agriculture industry had been improved over the years.
For his part, the Hall Master of Akuafo Hall, Prof. Kweku Oppong Asante, said the lecture was meant to celebrate farmers due to their contribution to the hall, which was constructed with cocoa funds.
