Veep`s Office must follow up this pledge

It is not in doubt that agriculture employs more than 60% of the working population of this country, yet unfortunately, those who are engaged in this sector have not seen much improvement in their standard of living, due to post harvest losses and the primitive method of farming.

About three months ago, there were news reports that a large number of harvested tomatoes at Akomadan and some rural communities in Asante Akyem South District in Ashanti Region, were getting rotten, because there was no ready market for the produce.

Similarly, pineapple growers in the Central Region have also been complaining about the lack of markets for their produce.

Meanwhile, these farmers, who sometimes go in for loans from the banks at high interest rates to support their farming activities, do not have storage facilities to help preserve the produce and release it onto the market when the demand goes up.

The few industries we have in the country do not also patronise these locally grown farm produce.

Companies such as the Pwalugu Tomato Factory in the north, which depend on local tomato for processing, does not also have the capacity to buy large quantities to ease the suffering of the farmers.

It is based on these factors enumerated above, that The Chronicle welcomes, as good news, a report carried by the Daily Graphic that the Coca Cola Company had announced its intention to buy pineapples from the local market, and process them as non-achololic beverages for consumption.

The decision follows fruitful discussions the Vice President, John Dramani Mahama, had with them during his recent visit to the United States of America.

Non-achoholic beverages produce by Coca Cola Company are well patronized the world over, therefore if the deal is finally sealed, it would go a long way to alleviate the sufferings of the Ghanaian farmer.

The Chronicle also appeals to local investors to take advantage of abundance of locally produced farm products, and invest in the sector.