I Highly Revere You More Than Those In Suit And Tie – Otumfuo Eulogise Farmers
His Royal Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has asserted his advocacy for the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) because of their contribution to Ghana’s economic growth.
“I can assure you that you have my support and I’ll be an advocate for you, I’m always very passionate about agriculture. We cheer the chief executives and all the people in suits and tie to me I respect and cheer you more.
He says, farmers are vital people in the country where the economy depends on them, therefore a deliberate policy to regulate farming and its related activities must be derived.
“We can chase oil, we can chase gold but the finality is that agriculture to me is the basis of the development of the country in relation to the economy.”
“There should be a deliberate policy to encourage agriculture and I feel that I have to support you to do it. I’m a farmer myself though I have palm oil, mangoes and I’m intending to go to rice farming also.”
The system must be in a way that a percentage of imports must be allowed into the country.
“Maybe there should be a policy where if Ghana is importing a hundred tons of rice every year then we can produce luckily about twenty to fifty tons, there should be a deliberate policy that you can only bring in fifty tons of rice and Ghana should produce the fifty, these are the things that can be done and the incentives given to peasant farmers. They also have to make sure that the ministry of agriculture sees to it that it becomes a government policy to support agriculture.”
“The cocoa that you grow that earns the dollars imports also takes the money away, so in a way, we say that you give us the foreign exchange and we still fight against you, why is it so?”
Otumfuo said every country that looks down on farmers cannot grow as desired. With farmers’ contributions, he honors them at all times.
“Any country like Ghana that doesn’t respect its farmers is not serious to look at how the economy will develop.”
He made these observations when the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) called on him at his palace to intervene in the reversal of the benchmark value discount.
Source: Opemsuo.com/ Monica M. Appiah-Manu
