Government Invest More In Agric - Mills

Accra,(Greater Accra Region) 16 Oct. Vice President John Evans Atta Mills today said government is determined to channel as much investment as possible into agriculture for it to achieve the required significant growth. Professor Mills, who was speaking at a ceremony to commemorate World Food Day, said government is taking steps to make the sector attractive for both private individuals and companies to find it profitable to invest in it. ''If the problems of hunger and malnutrition are to be resolved, all of us - politicians, farmers and businessmen - will need to invest our time, talents and resources in the fight for food security''. Experts say Ghana needs to invest about 300 million dollars annually in agriculture to make significant gains. However, present annual investment amounts to between 50 million to 60 million dollars. The 17th World Food Day celebration under the theme: ''Investing in Food Security'' was attended by a cross section of the society, including members of the Council of State, chiefs and queenmothers, the diplomatic corps and school children. Prof. Mills assured prospective investors of government's technical and logistic support in production as well as marketing through the Ghana Export Promotion Council. He stressed the need to invest not only in inputs but also in harvesting, storage, marketing and distribution. ''But, merely producing enough food is not sufficient to guarantee food security. A well-fed society means improving quantity, quality and variety of the food people eat.'' Prof. Mills commended the Food and Agriculture Organisation, International Fund for Agricultural Development, World Bank and other donors for their support to agriculture. He paid tribute to the two million farmers and fishermen who have fed the country in spite of the constraints they face. Prof. Mills urged them to capitalize on the current goodwill of the government and the public to produce more for the sector to exceed its annual growth rate of four per cent. Dr. Kwabena Adjei, the sector minister, said great opportunities exist in commercial farming, production of planting materials, storage, research and agro-processing and urged local and private investors to invest in them. He urged religious organisations to go into agriculture. Dr. Adjei said it was time people diverted their investment from trading into agriculture. He appealed to the banks and other financial institutions to institute innovative credit schemes to support viable agricultural projects. ''There is the need for some of these banks to re-activate their dormant agricultural financing departments or create new ones, if they are non-existent, to complement the efforts of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB)''. About 85 per cent of investments from local financial institutions are provided by ADB. Dr. Adjei also appealed to land owners to release arable land for production.

Accra,(Greater Accra Region) 16 Oct. Vice President John Evans Atta Mills today said government is determined to channel as much investment as possible into agriculture for it to achieve the required significant growth. Professor Mills, who was speaking at a ceremony to commemorate World Food Day, said government is taking steps to make the sector attractive for both private individuals and companies to find it profitable to invest in it. ''If the problems of hunger and malnutrition are to be resolved, all of us - politicians, farmers and businessmen - will need to invest our time, talents and resources in the fight for food security''. Experts say Ghana needs to invest about 300 million dollars annually in agriculture to make significant gains. However, present annual investment amounts to between 50 million to 60 million dollars. The 17th World Food Day celebration under the theme: ''Investing in Food Security'' was attended by a cross section of the society, including members of the Council of State, chiefs and queenmothers, the diplomatic corps and school children. Prof. Mills assured prospective investors of government's technical and logistic support in production as well as marketing through the Ghana Export Promotion Council. He stressed the need to invest not only in inputs but also in harvesting, storage, marketing and distribution. ''But, merely producing enough food is not sufficient to guarantee food security. A well-fed society means improving quantity, quality and variety of the food people eat.'' Prof. Mills commended the Food and Agriculture Organisation, International Fund for Agricultural Development, World Bank and other donors for their support to agriculture. He paid tribute to the two million farmers and fishermen who have fed the country in spite of the constraints they face. Prof. Mills urged them to capitalize on the current goodwill of the government and the public to produce more for the sector to exceed its annual growth rate of four per cent. Dr. Kwabena Adjei, the sector minister, said great opportunities exist in commercial farming, production of planting materials, storage, research and agro-processing and urged local and private investors to invest in them. He urged religious organisations to go into agriculture. Dr. Adjei said it was time people diverted their investment from trading into agriculture. He appealed to the banks and other financial institutions to institute innovative credit schemes to support viable agricultural projects. ''There is the need for some of these banks to re-activate their dormant agricultural financing departments or create new ones, if they are non-existent, to complement the efforts of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB)''. About 85 per cent of investments from local financial institutions are provided by ADB. Dr. Adjei also appealed to land owners to release arable land for production. Ghana Review International: New is Our Business