SONA 2023: Government Continues To Prioritise Agriculture For Economic Transformation – President
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said that government will continue to prioritize agriculture as one of the driving forces for economic transformation.
According to him, the experiences and lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict justify sufficiently the government’s increased investment in the agricultural sector.
“Indeed, the sector recorded significant successes, with an average growth rate of 6.28% from 2017 to 2021. The consistent growth over the period has translated into improved food security, job opportunities along agricultural value chains and availability of raw materials for industry. ”
President Akufo-Addo says “to address the vexed issue of post-harvest losses, we have constructed some sixty-five (65) warehouses, with the remaining fifteen (15) at advanced stages of completion. This intervention is adding some eighty thousand metric tonnes (80,000mt) to national grain storage capacity. US$29.9 million worth of machinery and equipment have been procured from Brazil to boost mechanization”.
He added that, the impact of climate change and variability on global agricultural activities is a call to the country and all countries, to adopt appropriate technologies and other innovative practices for sustainable agriculture and resilience against food insecurity.
He said the government’s response has been to continue to invest in irrigation infrastructure both large and small scales across the country.
Source: opemsuo.com/Effmen William
