Daniel Amateye Anim
Daniel Amateye Anim, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Institute of Certified Economists, has called on the next government under Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to focus on growing the agricultural sector.
He said paying special attention to the agriculture would grow the sector, create more jobs for the youth and ensure food supply sufficiency.
The contribution of agriculture to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has declined since 2009 from 31.8 percent to about 12.8 percent as at September 2015.
Many have attributed the decline to government’s refusal to invest in the sector which has imposed untold hardship on farmers and denied many jobs.
The outgoing National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, in its 2016 budget, allocated GH¢501.5 million to the sector, a mere 1.2 percent of government’s total expenditure.
Speaking in an interview with BUSINESS GUIDE, Mr. Amateye Anim said the gradual decline of the agric sector was unacceptable, adding that failure to put immediate measures in place to address the situation would affect the country’s economy adversely.
“I expect the new administration to focus on the agricultural sector and invest hugely in it so that we can have food supply sufficiency.
“Once there is sufficient food supply, the government will not spend hard currency importing food from other countries to feed the people. This will mean that the price of foodstuff will also be cheaper at the markets,” he said.
Mr Amateye Anim said Ghana has a competitive advantage over other countries when it comes to agriculture, adding that “we must capitalize on that and produce more to feed the people.”
He said the agric sector should also be linked to industry to create more jobs, stating that “the one-district, one-factory campaign promise was appropriate and achievable when linked to agriculture.”
Engage Private Sector
Mr. Amateye Anim also urged the new administration to immediately engage the private sector so as to expand the country’s economy.
“The operators in the sector will be able to tell the government their major concerns and what must be done to address the concerns when engaged.”
By Cephas Larbi