Some inhabitants of the Kwadaso Constituency in the Ashanti Region, have implored delegates of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) not to vote for the former Minister of Agriculture; Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, as the party’s flagbearer.

Although Dr. Afriyie Akoto is a former Member of Parliament for the area, the constituents say he performed abysmally during his two terms. The constituents also believe that Dr. Akoto Owusu Afriyie, did not demonstrate competence after he was appointed to head the Agric Ministry. One of the constituents, Agya Nimo, said that Dr. Akoto could not even commission a water project for the constituency.

“He couldn’t manage small Kwadaso, what shows that when given the whole nation to manage, he can do it? This is Kwadaso, as a former MP, he should come and tell us what he did to transform the lives of the constituents. We have a timber market here; he couldn’t even initiate policies to shore up the operations of the traders and he wants to manage Ghana?… He should forget about it because he won’t win.”
Agya Nimo

Some of the constituents also threatened to vote skirt and blouse during the 2024 elections, should the delegates elect Dr. Owusu Akoto as flagbearer of the NPP.

“Massa, Dr. Akoto will mismanage the country if he is elected president. We are NPP and we vote for NPP but if the delegates make a mistake by voting for him, we will vote skirt and blouse. Dr. Akoto as flagbearer, will thwart the party’s vision of breaking the 8”, another resident stressed.

The Use Of Agriculture To Obtain First Class Economy

On the other hand, the flagbearer hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), and immediate past Minister of Food and Agriculture, has assured Ghanaians of using agriculture to attain the status of a first-class economy, when he becomes President in 2024.

He uttered that under his Presidency shall be a newly created Agricultural Management Team (AMT), chaired by himself as President, to drive the agricultural development, in addition to the Economic Management Team to be headed by the Vice President.

“The AMT shall comprise seven agric-related ministries, namely: Food & Agriculture, Finance, Trade and Industry, Lands and Natural Resources, Transport, Local Government Decentralization and Rural Development, and Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation.
“This is expected to improve supply chain logistics and expand market access, infrastructure projects such as feeder roads, hospitals, housing, rural electrification, irrigation and storage, among others.”
Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto

Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto 1 — Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto

Dr. Akoto said this yesterday in Accra, when he spoke on the topic “The future of the economy of Ghana.” The event gave the former agriculture minister the opportunity to share his insight, into building the agricultural sector into a bedrock for financing the development of the rest of Ghana’s economy.

Dr. Akoto, who used the event to officially announce his intention to contest the flagbearer position of the NPP to party faithful and Ghanaians, said, Ghana had to prioritize agricultural transformation at the highest level of government through the implementation of a well-defined vision and strategy.

He explained that such a strategy should include, the need to prioritize investment to achieve sustainable food systems that would be non-negotiable to transform agriculture for the prosperity of all Ghanaians.

“Agricultural policy must be driven by evidence. It is essential that policy makers, farmers and actors in the value chain are trained to access the benefits of data for decision making. Precision Agriculture, that gives farmers the ability to use inputs more effectively to increase productivity will be prioritized.”
Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto

Dr. Akoto, was optimistic that this would help curb the effects of climate change and sustain yields in farmers’ fields, in order to grow crops that would be resilient to withstand drought, heavy rains and heat.

Touching on his achievement in the implementation of the government flagship programme; the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ), he said, while acknowledging that there was a lot of room for improvement in the PFJ, he indicated the programme had received resounding success.

He said the government expenditure on fertilizer and improved seeds to contribute to the food and nutrition needs of the people, amounted to GH¢2.6 billion between 2017-2021.

“The king of Mamprusi, the Nayiri, who has been a farmer all his life, in December 2019 when I visited his palace in Nalerigu, he was full of praises for the PFJ.
“He informed me that for the first time in his community, stocks of new maize which were being harvested at the time of my visit had been brought into his barn, when old stocks from the previous year (2018) were still available. In other words, the King was acknowledging the success of the PFJ Programme.”
Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto