The Food and Agriculture Minister-designate, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto says the government has gone into deals with India and Brazil to supply farm machinery to the country.
According to him, “the government has taken note of the shortage [of farm machinery] and I’m sure that this year, with the Brazilian and Indian supply of machinery, we’ll be able to address this issue”.
Speaking during his vetting at the Parliament House on Friday, February 19, 2021, Mr. Afriyie Akoto stated that due to the demand for farm machinery and the doubling in the production of rice, it was important for the government to go into arrangements to ensure that such machinery is brought into the country.
“The demand for machinery for harvesting and processing has gone up because the basic production [of rice and other grains] has gone up. The production of rice has more than doubled, so the milling capacity is expected to go up. Unfortunately, the private sector has been very slow in picking up this opportunity, so the government has had to enter into arrangements with countries like Brazil and India to bring in farm machinery.”
He further stated that the decline in the agricultural sector’s contribution to Ghana’s Gross Domestic Profit is not surprising.
“The latest statistics from the Central Bank are pointing to agriculture contributing to about 19 percent of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It has dropped from when it was nearly half of GDP about 20 years ago. That’s what you would expect in any growing economy.”
“This trend in Ghana is not unique. With all the plans put in place by this government, we expect that the share of agriculture will continue to fall while other sectors like manufacturing, tourism, and banking continue to go up,” he added.
