Agriculture is Ghana's
most important economic sector, the country produces a variety of crops in
various climatic zones which range from dry savanna to wet forest and which run
in east west bands across the country. Agricultural crops, including yams,
grains, cocoa, oil palms, kola nuts, and timber. Ghana’s Growth and Poverty
Reduction relies on agriculture as an engine of growth to lead the country into
a middle income status.
Ghana needs to continue with the improvement of the
agriculture sector and this must be something that the country is prepared for.
When I say that the agricultural sector has increased in recent years it means
that it has contributed much to the Gross Domestic Product in the country.
Statistics and report by the CIA shows that
the Ghanaian agriculture sector is doing tremendously well. From the report
with GDP composition by sectors agriculture stand tall with 37.3%, and for the
labor force of the country agriculture again stands with 56%. All these shows
an increment in the production of agricultural products and the improvement in
the agricultural sector. The question right is that if all these are facts of
the agricultural sector, why is it that the ordinary Ghanaian can have a feel
of it? Why is the economy the way it is? These questions can be answered by doing
the following;
First and foremost the government must make sure
that there is internal production of food and other agricultural products and
not only that the foods that are produced in the country must have stable price
so that the poorest in the country can afford the manageable square meal a day.
Stabilization of food in the country will not only make it affordable but also
it will bring down the stress in the economy that make the ordinary man think
that the economy is bad or the government is a failure.
Also the government must also make sure that after
stabilizing the prices of foods and internal production of agricultural
products in the country, it must further go on to make sure that the salary of
the citizens that goes into food must be very minimal. The government can do
this by making sure that the prices of goods are very minimal and also should
be stabilize.
The least thing a country can do to ensure the
security of the people or the citizens as well as the country is by controlling
the production of food within the country, the government can ensure this by
first investing in the production sectors and also make sure that the
institutions that are to see to the production are effective and efficient. Legislation
of laws to regulate the sector is the best way to ensure the security of the
farmers and the agriculturalist. Ghana is blessed with different agricultural
products and the government must make sure that it gives equal attention to
every crop or products, the agricultural sector must be given the maximum
attention since it is the backbone of the country
Ghana must learn to be processors of the
agricultural product and not the producers of the raw products alone. The
government must ensure that the processing industries are revived and effective
once again so that most of the country’s agricultural products are processed
internally before exportation or consumed internally. Technical and financial
assistance must be given to the agricultural producers of farmers so that they
are able to produce enough products within the shortest possible time.
Developing the agriculture sector in the country is
the major responsibility of the every government and any government who is able
to do that to produce the best result will always have a popular legitimate
from the citizens.
Lamptey Alfred
Knust
Alfredlamptey88@yahoo.com
