Agriculture Our Top Priority--Akufo-Addo

President Nana Akufo-Addo has assured Ghanaians that government will not neglect agriculture because it is vital to the development of the economy.

“Agriculture remains the fuel which powers a great deal of our activities in Ghana. We ignore it at our risk; my government will certainly not ignore it. I give you my pledge once again,” the president said in a speech at the launch of the new 10-year development plan for the cashew industry in the Brong Ahafo Region on Tuesday, 20 February 2018.

For him, Ghana needs “to raise agriculture to a higher plane to be able to improve on the quality of life of our people”.

He said: “The diversification of agriculture is part of the vision to develop Ghanaian agriculture and the Ghanaian economy”.

Meanwhile, the president has also highlighted the importance of cashew production to the Ghanaian economy. According to him, cashew, together with other selected crops, can create wealth and jobs for Ghanaians.

“This, together with other programmes of other selected export crops, will drive industrialisation in rural Ghana, diversify agricultural products and provide the needed jobs for the teeming masses of unemployed youth of this country,” he emphasised.

The plan will take into account government support for the country's cashew industry and the required infrastructure for the sector.

It also seeks to improve research methods, introduce appropriate production and processing technologies as well as develop marketing strategies along the value chain

Ghana's cashew industry, which produces between 50,000 and 70,000 metric tonnes annually, currently employs more than 3000 farmers.

Mr Akufo-Addo urged industry players to capitalise on the opportunities in the value chain of the crop and make it beneficial to farmers.

“I will urge the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) to incorporate in this plan policies and interventions that will create additional businesses and job opportunities in the areas of storage, transport and packaging of cashew, which will ensure that our cashew farmers earn higher income,” the president said.

He assured the public of government's commitment to the implementation of the plan in addition to other programmes to propel the growth of the cashew industry.