I was excited to read the article "Aveyime Rice Project to Bounce Back June", that appeared on Ghanaweb.com on 15 th January, 2007. On January 7, there was an article on the same website that lamented that the "Aveyime Rice Project is wasting away". I am happy to see that the government is finally making this happen, and I am sure many Ghanaians will be happy to see this happen. Any patriotic Ghanaian who is proud of the African blood that runs through his or her veins should commend or support this effort.
Unfortunately, we have had too many false and short-sighted Africans, including the Quality Grain Rice group, who have kept our nation as a neocolonial entity with little respect in the international community. There are those who praise the current international order, where we import US $100 million from North America and Asia. This ideology has been previously rebuffed on ghanaweb.com.
I believe this project must be awarded to a Ghanaian organization that is locally-minded and yet globally-exposed. The management must be undertaken by professionals with a good record of entrepreneurship. This project should be awarded to a Ghanaian entity that considers it to be their most important project, with an intention of keeping profits reinvested in Ghanaas opposed to repatriating profits. Not only must the entity be profitable, they must provide employment, be a part of the community, and initiate a world-class rice and agro-industry in Ghana and West Africa. The organization must recognize the two most important challenges - making rice that matches or exceeds the quality of imports and at a price that matches subsidized rice from more industrial countries.
On the March 6 of 2007, Ghana will be 50 years old since independence. We must seek the true meaning of independence. The government was willing to finance $20 million to Ms. Cotton, an American from the Quality Grain Project, who was not qualified for the project. She failed Ghana miserably and this should never happen again. The bottom line is that agriculture is a key industry to both developed nations and developing alike. It is matter of food security and as an independent nation, this industry must be controlled by Ghanaians.
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