President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Wednesday said Ghana would adopt the model of development that helped with the rapid transformation of the economies of the Asian Tigers.
He said: “What they (Asians) did there, and what we have to replicate here, is this constant interface between those of us making the policies and those actually on the field,” adding that that model would propel Ghana’s quest to pursue an aggressive agricultural-based, value-added export-driven industrialisation.
President Akufo-Addo made the remarks when he met with members of the National Farmers and Fishers Award Winners Association (NFFAWAG), Ghana at the Presidency in Accra.
The NFFAWAG members were at the Flagstaff House to lend their support and expertise to government’s agenda to transform and accelerate the agricultural growth in the country.
The Association, formed in 1997, comprises award-winning farmers and fishermen who have distinguished themselves in their respective sub-sectors by winning relevant national, regional and district awards since the inception of the Farmers’ Day in 1985.
The President indicated that apart from replicating the strategies adopted by those Asian economies, Government would ensure there was constant dialogue between policy makers and technical people to find ways to actualise the vision of his government to make agriculture the fulcrum of development in Ghana.
He gave the assurance that government would give all the support needed to farmers to enable them to produce at optimum levels to ensure the country got the volumes that would feed the factories that would be set up in all the districts as well as for export.
President Akufo-Addo noted that farmers were the lifeblood of the economy and, as such, his administration would commit to engaging them fruitfully in the formulation of agricultural policies.
He said if there was fertile collaboration between farmers and government; “I think we are bound to succeed in whatever it is that we want to do,” and emphasised the need for periodic meetings between the farmers and government for a fertile cross fertilisation of ideas.
“If we continue that way, we are going to make a huge impact on enhancing the agricultural productivity of the country… I want to partner with you so that we can, together, achieve our common objective,” the President said.
The President gave the assurance that brainstorming on the possibility of establishing an Agricultural Fund, as mooted by the Association, would inure to the benefit of the country in terms of furthering the agenda to improve the productivity of the farmers.
He directed that the ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries and Aquaculture liaise effectively with the Association to fashion modalities for cooperation.
Mr Davies Narh Korboe, the Chairman of the NFFAWAG, expressed appreciation to government for the steps taken to revamp the agricultural sector to make it the pivot of development in the country.
He gave the assurance that the Association was a commitment to make government’s interventions succeed.
“Over the years, an increasing proportion of our members have raised the bar by producing to the European Union and global standards in our quest to penetrate global markets. We believe that with a more deliberate collaboration between our associations and the Ministry, we could achieve even more, thereby raking in more foreign exchange for the country,” he said.
