Economist Professor John Gatsi is advocating for a focus on agriculture as a major economic management objective.

Acknowledging the importance of digitalization in the current economic dynamics, he is emphatic that the importance of agriculture cannot be removed from the equation in reviving Ghana’s economy.

Prof. Gatsi made this suggestion while speaking at the Connect FM Dialogue series in Takoradi on the topic: ‘Ghana’s Economy: The Strengths and Threats’.

Ghana’s economy is currently challenged from the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian/Ukraine war and other dynamics facing the world economy at large.

Prof. Gatsi, who is also the Dean of the School of Business at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), thinks the way to go is investing in agriculture.

“In our economic management objective, focus on agriculture is one of the things that has been highlighted. So anybody managing the economy should be guided that agriculture takes its position in terms of what we do with production, how we process them into other products.

“You see, our agriculture zones should attract industries related to processing, etc but that is not what we see. We spend so much on agriculture imports into the country and that is not a good thing to do.

“I know that we are in an era of digitalization and blue economy, etc but you can’t take away the strength of agriculture from the economy management of Ghana,” he noted.

Regional Manager of Connect FM Ransford Nana Osei Asare described the topic for discussion as very timely.

“Looking at the rate at which prices of goods and services are going up, I believe this dialogue is very timely,” he said.

The Connect FM Dialogue Series is a quarterly forum by Connect FM which brings together stakeholders to discuss pertinent issues and the way forward.

The programme brought together, members from the business community and other stakeholders. It was supported by I.T. Guardian, dealers in laptops and accessories Eribel creatives and the Takoradi Mall.

Source: 3news.com|Ghana

Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Food and Agriculture Committee Dr. Godfred Seidu Jasaw has urged African governments to work towards ensuring more coherent agricultural policies on the continent if food insecurity challenges can be fixed.

He says there is a lot of incoherence in agricultural policies on the African continent that requires immediate fixing.

“From the biennial review report from the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development program, something is clear, country policies across the program show incoherence in policy and commitment in agriculture,” the MP for Wa East observed.

Dr. Jasaw was speaking at the 2023 Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) in Dar es Salam, Tanzania at a session themed: ‘Parliamentary and Policymakers Forum: Enabling the Trade Environment for Business’.

The session delved into the critical significance of fostering a conducive climate for enterprises in the food systems sector to thrive.

Moderated by Dr. Apollos Nwafor, Vice President in charge of Policy and State Capability at AGRA, the session discussed policies, laws, and regulations that can help attract investments and support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the agriculture and food sectors.

Experts and policymakers deliberated on the challenges faced by businesses and the role of governments, parliamentarians, and private sector actors in creating a conducive business environment and the ability to trade.

Dr. Jasaw called on African countries to ensure there is a proper alignment between the work of the executive and the legislature in policing agricultural policies.

“There is a shrinking of the conceptualization of governance to think the government is just the executive. If we think of policy actions, we should think of the legislators. We should take the legislators along in the policy formulation and implementation,” he said.

Dr. Jasaw also called for increased and timely funding of agricultural initiatives on the African continent.

“Most agricultural activities in Africa are timely and rainfed. If the government doesn’t receive the budget in good time, they will not be able to achieve their targets. The executive and legislators must be ready to work hand in hand to ensure government is held accountable,” he said.

Minister of Investment in Togo Rose Kayi Mivedor, who also spoke at the session, said her country is prioritizing investments in the agricultural sector to help better the lives of people.
“60% of the population in Togo lives in rural areas and the agricultural sector contributes to 33% of the GDP. As a result of this, we have put a strong focus on agriculture to improve access to land, seeds, and fertilizer,” she said.

“We have put in place policies to reduce prices and implemented programs for irrigation, fertilizer, and training to ensure good yields and increase production. We need to have a strong involvement from the head of states to drive successes in the agribusiness sector and to show the youth population that agribusiness is suitable for them,” she added.

Former Tanzanian President Dr. Jakaya Kikwete, who delivered the keynote address at the session, called on African countries to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to improve agriculture.

“We had a meeting in Ghana and the subject of discussion was promoting trade in the agricultural commodities. One thing that struck me at that meeting was that there are still a number of African countries that haven’t ratified the AfCFTA. It is a big shame,” he observed.

“If we talk of Africa coming together, AfCFTA is that process that brings Africa together on the economic front beyond the political front,” he added.

Dr. Kikwete said through AfCFTA, Africa has a rare opportunity to transform its food system, create wealth, and feed its people.

“But we need not do business as usual. And this involves ensuring a transformation of smallholder farmers who constitute more than 60%
of African agriculture,” he said.

The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto has revealed that the government will soon introduce a bill to be presented to Parliament for approval that will compel commercial banks in Ghana to give loan to farmers.

He explained that the government has done its part in supporting the farmers by subsiding inputs therefore, the banks will have also play their role in ensuring sustainable food production in the country by giving out loans to the farmers and other players in the sector.

Dr Afriyie Akoto said Ghana would not be the first country to introduce such a law, citing India as an example which he said has done it for over 30 years.

He said these when he toured some selected commercial farms in the Eastern Region over the weekend monitored by TV3’s Eastern Regional Correspondent Yvonne Neequaye.

He further explained that the cost of farming has hot up due to factors beyond the control of government.

“When we met the poultry farmers, it is very obvious that prices of poultry feeds which make up 70 per cent of cost of production has gone up. If you compare prices this year in January, February, March, April and May, and compare to the same period in 2021, 2020, 2019, the prices have shot up. They have shot up for very simple reason that the chemicals have gone up two or three times and that means the cost of production has gone up on the farm.

“At the same time, fuel prices have trebled and it means that haulage from the farm gate to the centres of consumption have also gone up. So, these we don’t have control over, these are external factors that are impacting seriously on the price formation.

“The thing is that because of that the cost of doing business in Agriculture has gone up and that is why poultry farmers for instance, those who were doing 150,000 birds, have now reduced to 50,000 because their working capital cannot support the new higher prices. That is where the banks have failed us in agriculture, because the banks which are doing business with these poultry farmers should be able to give them credit to sustain their production at those levels or even increase it.

“Unfortunately, the banks have stayed away and therefore they are having to reduce the level of level of production. Their interpretation had been that government, in spite of all that is happening we had done anything. [But] we took the trouble, more than one and half hours, to explain to them what the government is doing in trying to rectify the situation. After the explanation it was obvious that they were very satisfied with the efforts we have made.

“We are making a whole lot of efforts to ensure that we bring in the commercial banks including possibility of introducing legislations so that commercial banks would have to lend a portion of there portfolio to farmers and those in the value chain, the processers and others. We wouldn’t be the first country in the world to do that, India has been practicing that for 30 years.

“So definitely you are going to hear something in Parliament about this issue, as a way of making sure the commercial banks plays their role because government is playing its role by subsiding inputs and fertilizer, the banks should be able to lend to agriculture.”

By Laud Nartey|3news.com|Ghana