Alan Kyerematen pushes for seed disposal policy

Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, is calling for an industrial policy that will regulate the proper disposal of seeds in the country.

According to him, the policy, when implemented, will not only create job opportunities for the teeming unemployed youth hoping to venture into agriculture but also help in afforestation.

Mr Kyerematen argues that it’s about time government mapped up stringent policies that will control the level of imports into the country to protect local businesses.

Speaking at a forum in Accra, Mr Kyerematen said: “If we have a national harvesting and seed protection [policy] and for every household we don’t throw seeds away, can you imagine how many trees and how many plants will grow in Ghana especially for free?

“So, it is not everything that is money in Ghana and we say we don’t have the money for this or the budget for that. We need the budget, we need the money, but we also need some out-of-the-box thinking.

“Our everyday lifestyle can lead to employment of young people. The potential is there… If you talk to businessmen, we’re importing all the juices in this country as very few are made in Ghana, and, so, we are not converting our oranges into fruit juice, our pawpaws, mangoes into juice but we are importing it from other countries. So, instead, why don’t we consider setting up factories? But I need policies to protect my factory products, so that is the whole trade industrial policy issue which the ministry of trade and industry may also delve into.”