The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto has warned the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Directors of Agriculture to refrain from any act that might sabotage the implementation and impact of government’s agricultural initiatives.

His comments comes on the back of a series of compliant about the non-cooperation of the District Directors’ with the Western Regional Directorate with regards to facilitating programmes and policies being undertaken by government to improve agriculture in the country.

Dr Owusu Afriyie laments the unavailability of critical data on progress of work and impact of government’s intervention in the sector, is unacceptable.

He stressed that such information are crucial to evaluate and guide policy implementation to improve the sector.

“The regional director writes to you…you don’t respond. How do you expect us to work? We work with evidence. We work with figures, so if you are in your district and we don’t know what is happening even at the regional level, you expect us at Accra to know what is happening? We can only make policy based on evidence”, he stated.

An infuriated Dr Afriyie Akoto condemned the irresponsibility of some directors, saying “If you don’t fill up to it, it’s not by force that you should be a district director. Go and resign and find something else to do”.

“Don’t pretend that you are a district director when you are not. You’re only a district director if you are doing your work…and documenting your work and sending them to your bosses. If you sit there and collect information and you sit on it, it’s useless. If you sit there and you don’t collect information, your work is useless”, he added.

Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto intimated that government would not entertain any wastage of public funding and donor support in the agricultural sector.

“President of the Republic is very determined that agriculture should lead the way. This is why we putting all these resources at the disposal of the farmer, and it’s not getting to them. From the information that we are getting we have so many stock. We bring in so much fertilizer…urea, NPK and so on and at the end of the year they go to the stores… and now I know why you people that are supposed to be in charge, are not measuring up to your responsibility”, Dr Afriyie fired.

Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto made these heated remarks as he addressed a staff durbar at the Shippers Council in Takoradi, November 26, 2018, as part of his working visit to inspect ongoing projects in the Western Region.