Category: HEADLINES

Open Letter To: The President and Minister of Agriculture

One would have thought that a country that depends hugely on importation of its basic necessities for survival as in food stuffs( rice, sugar, maize, poultry ,milks etc) will be combing every corner to address the issues permanently, but alas, some powerful people are making dollars out of the situations hence must be left to enjoy to the detriment of the nation GHANA.

Former president Dr Kwame Nkrumah used to establish state farms across the country, of which, my district, Central Tongu (Adidome) had not less than five (5) of those farms eg Gbedemah Farms, Amen Farms, Russians Poultry and Rice Farms ,Ameworlor Korfe Farms etc. But today , none of those farms are working though one could see their residues there as evidence with the vast lands.

Today, the Planting and Rearing for Food and Jobs initiative has offices across the country but without state farms to operate. It is just there and their cars being used to conveying caskets for big men and women in the districts whiles we are short of food stuffs. We are not thinking critically as a nation to find solutions but rather creating only avenues we can use to create and loot the state to share for our generational wealths.

We have huge numbers of prisoners across the country that can be used to farm in these state farms when established . What is needed is means of transport system to be conveying them to the farms to work to feed Ghana.Products from the Farms will as well be used to feed them without government necessarily allocating feeding budgets to the prisons.Today, we having over 1 million youth who are struggling to join the various security services ,yet only less than 5000 can be picked annually if I am right.

The big question is why can’t the government recruits them into the security services and then use them to farm to feed the country? This is using a stone to killing two birds,thus, Reducing graduates unemployment, maximising food security and minimising huge cost of food importations. Rural Enterprise Support program being sponsored by World Bank have been trying to help youth in agribusiness,but unfortunately the packages don’t go to the selected qualified candidates who passed through their training programs.

I was part of over 43 qualified and selected individuals in my district whose packages came in 2018 June but we were shortchanged by politicians for their businesses.* How sad it is, like by now those 43 selected youth are doing greatly in Poultry and Piggery farms in the district. NB: That was only my district, same fate might have been suffered by other qualified and selected youth in other districts.

So you see, most of our leaders not helping the growth of the country at all through youth developmental policies and projects.There must be strict rules and guidelines put in place to ensuring that when these state farms are established , managers and directors of the various farms won’t shortchange the nation by stealing and recording less than actually produced.

I am guided by misfortunes from how state fertilisers are being channeled to individuals farms ,also selling many for wealth. The government must be serious to swiftly deal with recalcitrant appointees and employees who will sabotage the farms by looting the logistics meant for the farms and individual farmers.

Adidome Agriculture Farm Institute just like others, has many sophiscated farming tools yet can’t boast of just two acre plots of farms , yet the machines will be left to rot , how sad.Ghana can develop when we appoint common sense people into governments than greedy people with many certificates.

Let us rise and build the country for the future.We must do away with get rich quick mentality through dubious means. Africa Ghana can develop when our leaders put the continent and the nation first.

God bless us all

Bismark Kwabla Kpobi

Concerned Development.

bismarkkwablakpobi@gmail.com