Vision 2020 May Be An Illusion Unless ..., Farmer

Sunyani, Aug. 20, - The 1995 national best farmer, Nana Kofi Gyedu, has said the country's vision of becoming a middle income earner by the year 2020 would remain an illusion if steps are not taken to raise productivity and profitability in the agricultural sector. He said despite the abundance of fertile lands in the country, unemployed Ghanaians especially the youth, are refusing to go into farming. This is because the removal of subsidies on agricultural inputs and the absence of ready markets for produce have made farming unattractive. Nana Gyedu was speaking at the 14th annual general conference and workshop of the Agricultural Science Teachers Association of Ghana (ASTAG) which opened at Sunyani today. The four-day conference, being attended by 200 delegates from all over the country, is under the theme ''Towards vision 2020, the role of agricultural education''. Nana Gyedu said since there could be no sustainable economic growth without food security, it is imperative that the government gives the agricultural sector incentives to induce the youth to take over from the country's ageing farmers. In an address read on his behalf, the Brong Ahafo regional minister, Mr David Osei-Wusu called on agricultural science teachers to adopt more innovative and interesting methodologies to sustain the interest of students in the subject.