The General Secretary of the NDC Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketiah on Friday 7 /12/2018 granted audience to ahotor FM (92.3) on the eave of the celebration of the National Farmer’s Day held in the country to award deserving Farmers for their hard work of ensuring that there is maximum food for all and sundry at both local and for export purposes.
The 34th Farmer’s day ever was marked across the length and breadth of of the country with a call on stakeholders to do more by implementing pro- poor policies to alleviate the wrecking plights of farmers and fisher folks in the country.
Responding to painstaking questions in an interview conducted by a guest moderator on the program on Friday’s edition of “Obiaara Nka Bi ” socioreligious prime time morning show at the station. The general secretary of the NDC , who himself a farmer reiterated the need for government to initiate pragmatic policies to deal ruthlessly with the bad situations the ordinary farmer has to endure whiles he strive to produce to feed the nation, and his family.
The astute general secretary stated that ” on behalf of our national chairman, Hon. Samuel Ofosu Ampofo , who is currently out from the country, I wish to celebrate our hardworking farmers on such auspicious occasion as they mark the Farmer’s day celebration in the country ” The general secretary asserted !
Mr. Nketiah noted that during his days in Parliament who doubles as a minister of Food and Agriculture in the year 1997 during the reign of ex- president Jerry John Rawlings , he set up a lot of human centered orientation centres for farmers which gave them recognition and also made them economic viable.
He opined that the country’s Gross Domestic Products ( GDP) hinges largely on the nation’s farmers through whose tireless efforts augment the deficit in the other service sectors of the economy which gives the country a face lift in terms of revenue generation in the area of foreign remittances.
The NDC’s chief administrator further stated that, the NPP government and President Akufo Addo’s interest in the Agricultural sector is much ado about nothing , he explained is about time, the government focuses on getting to the drawing board to effect the necessary changes in the year’s old synopsis of the event and also ensure that the celebration assumed a new paradigm, instead of doing things the old way, which brings uninspiring outputs to the sector.
He added that, over 34 years of recognising dedicated and hardworking farmers for exhibiting exceptional contributions to the national food basket of the nation, it is incumbent on government to prioritise agric as its adopted policy and give it the needed support as the country aspire to achieve total food security and sovereignty for the unborn generation.
The general secretary of the largest opposition party in the country, told host *Afia Akyaa Ahenfie* that, he has been farming for many years and understands the rudiments of food cultivation and practices in farming, and demand a total overhaul in the notable crop growing areas.
Arguably, the general secretary made a strong case that farmers in the countryside goes through very turbulence means to feed the nation coupled with the bad raid network which have become a major albatross within and outside the Agriculture sector for many years. He advise the President to engineer a robust mechanism to curb the bedeviling situation.
He touts the achievement of the NDC in the Agric sector during their reign in power, and said if the NPP led administration had followed and implemented the blue prints by the NDC while in government, the nation’s agriculture status co would have been a success story by now, and urge the government to be proactive on matters confronting the sector respectively.
The general secretary of the NDC who is affectionately called “General Mosquito” paid glowing tribute to dedicated farmers and awardees of this year’s national farmer’s day celebration, and tasked government and stakeholders within the agric sector to think outside the box by adopting new and cogent policy document to reshape the activities of the farmer’s day event since many believes the celebration has assume a mere cacophony , embellished with mouthwatering rhetorics which sought to ridicule farmers during successive celebrations.
Mr. Asiedu Nketiah seconded observations by sections of the public, which suggest that It is time the nation do something different and positive for farmers and stop the perennial showmanship which sought to ridicule farmers during successive celebrations in the country.
The call by Mr. Nketiah was occasioned by earlier concern by the minister of Agriculture and Aquaculture development ; Dr Afriyie Akoto to the effect that, a scanty Ch¢ 2M was earmarked by government for organizing one of Ghana’s agribusiness annual ceremony propounded to motivate hardworking and deserving Farmers and fisher folks.
By: Nana Dogbe|ahotoronline.com|Ghana
