We’re committed to agric - Amissah-Arthur

The Government of Ghana is committed to ensuring a viable agriculture sector in the country in order to alleviate poverty, Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, has said.

According to him, the government has noticed that the sector is a high-risk area, therefore, has instituted measures to deal with those risks in order to ensure productive farming.

Speaking in Walewale in the Northern Region during the observance of the 32nd Farmers’ Day celebration, Mr Amissah-Arthur said: “The theme for our celebration in this year’s 32nd National Farmers Day celebration is ‘Agriculture, a Business Response to Economic Growth’.

We all know that agriculture is the main stay of our economy, it’s a way in which our economy grows from year to year and so the progress of the agricultural sector creates the increase in our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and, therefore, makes it possible for us to survive as a nation.

But agriculture also creates manufacturing jobs and it is the value added which we are emphasising this year. So the growth (of the economy) depends on agriculture and the growth itself also helps in creating jobs – value added as an additional responsibility.”

“The role of government is support the private sector because agriculture is principally a private sector enterprise but the government needs to support the private sector to develop agriculture because agriculture is a very risky business. When the times are good and the farm is very productive, the prices fall and the farmer’s income declines, when the produce is not good the farmer’s income declines, so in good years or bad years agriculture and the farmers suffer.

“What the government has tried to do is to reduce the risk that is in agriculture in order for the farms to be productive and for the farmers’ income to improve.

When the farmers income improves, poverty reduces and people live better lives, so our whole approach to agriculture has been to use public resources to invest in agriculture in order to support the farmers.”