A presidential hopeful, Nana Kojo Bonsu, has said that a major setback in Ghana’s economic drive is the complete disregard for what he described as “industrial agriculture”.
Industrial agriculture, according to the former Kumasi Mayor under the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration, is where the state engages in plantation farming to feed its people.
Mr Bonsu while speaking on the Anɔpa Bɔfoɔ morning show program on Angel FM and Angel TV, Monday, believes that if implemented, the mechanism will not only meet the needs of the local consumer but would feed the international markets, thereby generating revenue for the country.
This, according to him, will put Ghana on the map at a time when the prices of staples are spiralling and the world economies are on the decline.
“Take for instance Ejura. You can drive for about 10 kilometres and the land is lying there bare. All we have to do is to plough the land and provide seeds for the people to cultivate a maize plantation,” he suggested.
The NDC stalwart said such an initiative is akin to “operation feed yourself” which was introduced in the country under the military regime of Ignatius Kutu Acheampong from 1972 to 1978.
Indicating that same could be replicated for other agricultural produce such as cocoa which is a major driver of the economy, Mr Bonsu said the industrial agriculture programme would not be left in the hands of the farmers as it is an expensive undertaking.
According to him, the government will support the district assemblies with the necessary equipment and other needs to augment the efforts of the farmers to produce goods on a large scale.
“In the Northern region, we will cultivate rice. The farmer cannot buy a combine harvester so you [government] will buy the combine harvester for the district assembly to be rented out to the farmers at a cheaper price or for free for them to be able to get a lot of yields,” he explained.
This he however indicated that he would implement should he be vested with the power to lead the country in 2024 when the country goes to the polls.
“I will reinstate the operation feed yourself…because we don’t have it.”
Meanwhile, he has refuted the claim that his “industrial agriculture” initiative is an alternative expression for “planting for food and jobs” currently being implemented by the Akufo-Addo government.
“The planting for food and job, where is it?” he quizzed, adding that the public should not be deceived by the rhetoric of the government of the day.
