Mahama Has Failed The Agric Sector - Young Patriots

The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Young Patriots has stated that Ghana’s economy has slummed over the past couple of years and is currently in coma because President John Mahama is treating the biggest employment sector, agriculture with what they refer to as the “Ezra principle.”

The group opined that this principle has led to the dwindling fortunes of the agricultural sector of the Ghanaian economy leading to the Dutch disease as reported in the 2013 Ghana Economic Review outlook Report by Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA).

The Young Patriots have therefore challenged President John Mahama to outline his vision for the agric sector. Their comments come in the wake of the celebration of this year’s National Farmers Day celebration slated for Friday.

Addressing the media in Accra, the President of the Young Patriots, Richard Nyamah said President Mahama at the IEA debate failed to explain why the agric sector of the Ghanaian economy continues to dwindle.

“President John Dramani Mahama last Tuesday, in explaining why the agric sector of the Ghanaian economy was dwindling sort to play down the effects of the Dutch disease and rather blamed the problem on the fisheries and logging sub-sectors; the report of CEPA pointedly indicates it is the Dutch disease at play,” he said.

He thus admonished Ghanaian farmers to demand a workable blue print on agriculture from the President.

“President John Dramani Mahama has no vision for the agriculture sector of Ghana beyond rhetoric and propaganda; we are therefore edging all Ghanaians especially Ghanaian farmers to demand a workable blue print on agriculture from the President during the celebration of the farmer’s day, Ghanaian farmers deserve better than propaganda and cheap talk, the time to get real is now,” he added.

According to Mr. Nyamah, the NDC has failed to fulfill its 2008 campaign promise to improve the agric sector. “The NDC in 2008 promised Ghanaians an improvement in agriculture through massive investment in landing beaches, out-board motors, sea patrols activities to remove pair-trolling from our coast; They also promised to make available cheap regular pre-mix fuel for fisher folks.”

He stated, “The reality check it that prices of fishing nets, fishing boats, pre-mix fuel have increased more than threefold, fishing boats that cost between GHC 2,500-2,800 today cost between GHC 7,500- 8,000. Premix fuel is not even available most of the time; It is worth noting, that the President, despite of his promise to eliminate pair-trolling on our coastal belts, at the IEA debate rather blamed the dwindling fortunes of the fishery sub-sector the pair-trawling.”