Blessing In Disguise
Interesting and challenging moments have visited the world in recent times. These have tasked the minds of economists and social scientists across the globe to come out with a medley of theories.
While some have attributed the fuel price hike to factors like the increased demand for the commodity in the emerging economic powers like China and India against the backdrop of no major oil discoveries in the last forty years, others think speculators are responsible.
When we take on food, experts point at the diversion of portions of harvests to the production of fossil fuel substitutes. Others think adverse weather conditions have a hand in the negative trends as in the case of wheat.
Be it as it may, we in Ghana must consider the global food crisis as an impetus to urge us to increase production for both internal consumption and the insatiable export market.
We have as a people not done much to exploit fully our agricultural potential. Now that we have experienced at first hand the importance of doing so more than ever before, we must consider putting food crop production on an emergency footing.
Such a novelty approach calls for a complete overhaul of our agricultural policies. The issue of subsidies which many a government have failed to embrace is becoming a factor worth considering.
Government, in a response to the rising global price hikes, announced a number of measures which includes a subsidy arrangement for certain agricultural inputs.
That government has adopted subsidization of some agricultural inputs, is a pointer to the potential of this factor as medium to long-term response to our agricultural sector challenges.
We think that other citizens who are not full-time farmers could be encouraged to consider engaging in the venture on part-time basis.
Schools could also be supported to purchase tractors for farming. Indeed such schools which have adequate land at their disposal can engage in animal and poultry production alongside food crop ventures.
We have the potential to make a difference in our food production pattern in our part of the world.
We have mentioned it before that during the Operation Feed Yourself regime, our food production witnessed a massive change.
We can do it again. In fact now is the time to even do it because the whole world is suffering a food price hike, a phenomenon which, if not reversed, can lead to the plummeting of the quality of life for many citizens.
In some countries, the anomaly has led to social unrests, a situation which can cause political destabilization.
Thankfully, two international reports on the situation have pointed out that there is light at the end of the tunnel, with a possibility of falling food prices.
The likely plummeting food prices, the reports add, would not see an immediate return to old prices.
This forecast should propel us to embrace agriculture more than ever before so a genuine attempt at ensuring food security would be ensured.
What a blessing in disguise!